What causes low sugar levels?

Have you ever felt lightheaded, shaky or dizzy all of a sudden? Maybe your stomach was grumbling louder than a lion’s roar and all you could think about was getting your hands on some kind of sugar fix. If so, congratulations! You’ve experienced the joys of low blood sugar levels.

Low blood sugar is no laughing matter though (well maybe kinda) because aside from its annoying symptoms it can lead to serious complications if left untreated. So let’s get into what causes those pesky drags in our glucose levels.

Anatomy 101: How Our Body Uses Glucose

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty details, we need to understand how our body processes glucose – the most important fuel for cellular function.

First off, when we eat carbohydrates (sugar) they enter digestion where they are broken down into individual glucose molecules that enter our bloodstream. Once there, insulin acts as a transport system allowing cells throughout our body to absorb this available energy source as needed (I know science fiction has better plots but bear with me).

Without sufficient insulin hormone secretion or production and dysregulation in carbohydrate metabolism disorders like Type I Diabetes mellitus and Type II diabetes Mellitus may arise due to elevated amounts of Sugars ie high Blood Sugars(Because just having fun without any ailments would be too ideal).

Now let’s hop onto specific factors that might cause low sugars:

Dehydration – Water Is Essential For Life & Healthy Sugar Levels

Dehydration occurs when your body loses more fluids than you take in hence reducing your overall volume including mineral content which play a critical role in stabilizing blood-sugar, not even talking about keeping us hydrated through every life activity

When dehydrated,due to sweating,sickness etc; Your kidney works harder by holding water thus stopping excretion leading to concentrated fluid flow across cell membranes thus diluting body fluids as adaption to low water levels; this leads to cell shrinkage(Due To High concentration outside cells with sugar already in the cells increased glucose uptake due to higher concetration gradient which leads further hypoglycemia.

Simply put, drink enough water – the magical solution for all life’s problems.

Starvation – You Can’t Live Without Food

Diet is an essential aspect of our lives and it affects everything including our blood sugar levels. If you skip a meal or restrict your calorie intake below required daily rate your livers naturally produces glycogen to balance out energy demands ,when even that supply has run dry without food inputs ;blood sugars drop leading to a sudden crash which easily presents symptomatic/clinical Hypoglycemia LeveI symptoms such as Irritability,fatigue,dizziness,tremulous or other neuro-symptoms etc;

So, next time before skipping lunch just think twice because nobody likes a hangry person.

Exercise – Get Active But Watch Your Sugar Levels

Everyone needs some form of physical activity be it walking,jogging,Doing crossfit gymnastics(cf.gymnastic squat shown here).

However,during periods of exercise muscle fibers require extra fuel (glucose) thus requiring more insulin resulting in decreased sugars firstly due to increase cellular Glucose Utilization but secondarily Also from decreasing Insulin use_which may cause falling glucose If no carbohydrates are available either through foods eaten ahead of times or muscles having stored own carbohydrates within themselves(fibre causes tenderness not vanity); Keep track by using continuous glucose monitoring options where necessary during physically exhaustive activities.

In summary,get up off your lazy bums and workout just don’t be caught unaware ,kindly take precautions while being active especially if diabetic.

Alcohol Consumption – Drink Less For Lower Blood Sugar

All we do would get better after one shot,mocktail,single or double (Joke’s on you).Alcohol does not mix well with healthy blood sugar levels because it affects the liver which is responsible for glucose regulation leading to unpredictable low sugars caused by delayed glucoses increase after drinking, furthermore in chronic alcoholism this may lead to perpetually decreased insulin sensitivity further leading consequential hormonal changes.

So next time think twice before attending that happy hour.

Certain Medications – The Double Edge Of Medical Science

Medicines are meant for healing and enhancing our health but often they come at a cost,special mention goes out to:

  • Anti-diabetic medications like Insulin – To regulate hyperglycemia

    Insufficient or excess dosage can cause drastic swings in sugar levels hence monitoring glucose trends would be vital.

  • Anti-malaria drugs such as Quinine derivatives

    Patients receiving these types of medication require constant monitoring due to risk posed mainly attributed to possible hypoglycaemic adverse effects.

Keep an eye on the labels & prescribed prescriptions when starting any new medication.

Hormonal Imbalances – Can Your Hormones Misbehave?

Hormones are truly quite essential and influence virtually every aspect of our physiology; too much/high or too little/Low could affects several body physiological functions including Blood Sugar Dysregulation due there role as signaling molecules regulating metabolism.

For example:

1) Cushing’s Syndrome → Patient presents with high cortisol turned-on by increased ACTH activity atleast from a tumour/cancerous growths around pituitary/adrenal glands Increased blood sugar ,Serious hypertension/ weight gain often occur among other associated symptoms .

2) Hypothyroidism/disease condition where patients experience low thyroid hormone supply causing dysregulated Body hormones affecting Energy expenditure,resulting hypoglycemiia occurs instead being parallel yet Hyperthyroid disease conditions tend towards High sugars

Fascinating right? But be mindful of how certain illnesses affect your sweet tooth.

Genetic Factors – Are You Destined For Low Sugars?

Some people are genetically predisposed to low sugar levels due to missing enzyme function (enzyme defects),these limiting bodies’ ability transport,metabolize or produce sugars leading significant chronic fluctuation of Blood Glucose including through episodes of hypoglycemia; others might be born with a rare form of T1DM( A condition where autoimmune response causes destruction of pancreatic beta-cells)

So if you’re constantly dizzy and the shakes just won’t go away no matter how much candy you eat,you just might have your genes to thank for it.


There we have it,five major factors influencing blood-sugar regulation so next time before rattling on google during an episode make sure these possible fundamentals checks/troubleshoots work . Remember sugar is a blessing but let’s be cautious about maintaining healthy levels by practicing good diets and avoiding extreme circumstances that may cause fluctuations in our precious body’s balance system.

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