Drinking water is necessary for everyone, but especially for diabetics. It’s important not only for hydration but also because water can help lower high blood sugar levels.

Diabetes and Dehydration–What’s the Connection?

When your blood sugar is high, your kidneys try to remove the extra glucose by passing it through your urine. As a result, you urinate frequently, which causes dehydration. Therefore, you will feel thirsty because you are losing water.

How Dehydration Increases Blood Sugar

Dehydration increases blood sugar levels for three reasons:

First, dehydration means there is less water in your body, making the existing sugar in your bloodstream concentrated

“Having a glass of water can be really helpful in essentially diluting your blood sugar and lowering your blood sugar in a healthy way,” says Jessica Crandall Snyder, RD, CDCES, with Vital RD in Denver (https://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes/9-tips-lower-blood-sugar-naturally/).

Second, dehydration increases stress hormones like cortisol, which may raise blood sugar levels.

Last, your body releases the antidiuretic hormone (ADH or vasopressin) when dehydrated. Vasopressin is a hormone that helps your kidneys keep water. Low water intake increases vasopressin levels, which increases glucose intolerance and blood sugar. (Onlinelibrary.wiley.com)

Staying Hydrated to Control Blood Sugar Levels

Two studies show that staying hydrated can control blood sugar levels:

A study found that the more water test subjects drank, the less they were likely to develop high blood sugar. Those who drank less than ½ liter of water per day were at risk of developing hyperglycemia (Reduced water intake deteriorates glucose regulation in patients with type 2 diabetes – ScienceDirect).  

Another study confirms the findings. Stavros Kavouras, director of the Hydration Science Lab at Arizona State University, led a study to examine the effects of glucose levels after consuming recommended water levels. The results were that type 2 diabetics could regulate their glucose levels significantly better when properly hydrated (https://research.asu.edu/20190509-watering-down-diabetes).

Signs of Dehydration

Of course, thirst is the most obvious sign of dehydration, but here are others:

  • dizziness or lightheadedness
  • a headache
  • dry mouth and lips
  • dry eyes and skin
  • sunken eyes
  • fatigue

More Benefits of Water

Aside from reducing blood sugar levels, there are many other benefits to drinking water:

  • rids waste through urination and perspiration
  • normalizes your body temperature and blood pressure
  • lubricates joints
  • flushes bacteria from the bladder
  • carries nutrients and oxygen to cells

How Much Water Do We Need to Drink?

The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies recommends drinking 11 cups of water for women, and 15 cups for men daily.

However, you may need more if you exercise, if it’s hot outside, or if you’re ill and lose water through vomit and diarrhea.

Another helpful tip is to drink one 8 oz glass of water for every other beverage you drink that contains sugar, alcohol, artificial sugar, or caffeine.

Also, a good way to tell if you are getting enough water is to check if your urine is light yellow. Dark yellow urine is more concentrated, showing that the body is trying to conserve water. It also means an increase in antidiuretic hormone levels (https://research.asu.edu/20190509-watering-down-diabetes).

Do Coffee and Tea Count Towards Water Consumption?

Contrary to popular belief, coffee and tea count toward your water intake. While coffee and tea have a moderate diuretic effect, the amount of fluid lost is less than the amount of fluid in the drink. Therefore, drinking tea and coffee still counts toward water consumption.

What About Water-Rich Fruits and Vegetables?

Fruits with high water content can count toward water intake. For example, melons like watermelon and cantaloupe contain over 90% of water. In addition, celery, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and zucchini also contain over 90% of water. They also contain electrolytes, which can hydrate the body.

Other Surprising Sources of Water

Gelatin and soup also count towards your daily water intake. (Davita.com). Juice, milk, soda, and ice cream also count but contain a lot of carbs and sugars. Thus, they will increase blood sugar levels and lead to more urination and dehydration.

Lemon Water Benefits

I love lemon water. In fact, I love it so much that it helped me stop drinking diet soda. Not only does lemon add flavor to boring water, but it has many health benefits.

A French trial confirms that lemons have beneficial anti-diabetic properties. In a randomized trial, volunteers consumed bread with lemon juice. As a result, the lemon juice lowered peak blood glucose concentration and delayed that peak by over 35 minutes. The study concluded that eating something acidic like lemons with starches slowed down the digestion of starches (Study: Lemon Juice Reduces The Glycemic Response – Limoneira).

Other benefits of lemon water include:

  • aids in digestion because the acid helps break down food
  • replaces high-carb drinks
  • contains vitamin C and potassium
  • helps prevent kidney stones

However, be aware that lemon contains citric acid, which can erode tooth enamel. In order to prevent this, you can drink through a straw and brush your teeth afterward.

Conclusion

Not consuming enough water can make it harder to control blood sugar levels. That’s on account of water fighting dehydration while getting rid of excess glucose. Not a fan of water? You can liven it up by adding lemon, which can also reduce blood sugar. You can also count tea, coffee, and water-rich fruit and veggies towards your daily water intake.

Diabetic News

A Swedish study found that people with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years could avoid eye and kidney complications by keeping their blood sugar levels below 7%. Read about the long-term study here: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-09-long-term-blood-sugar-diabetes-related.html

Quotes on Water

“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” ― W. H. Auden

“Pure water is the world’s first and foremost medicine.” ― Slovakian Proverb

“I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man.” ― Henry David Thoreau

“Drinking water is like washing out your insides. The water will cleanse the system, fill you up, decrease your caloric load and improve the function of all your tissues.” ― Kevin R. Stone