Why skipping meals is harmful to diabetes

Why skipping meals is harmful to diabetes

Meal skipping is a tactic used for many reasons – lack of time, no appetite, lack of planning ahead, or for trying to lose weight.  This habit is never a good idea but especially so for anyone with diabetes. If you have diabetes and find yourself routinely skipping a meal or two most days (if not every day) of the week, this can lead to dangerous blood sugar swings as well as potential complication down the road.

When given a diagnosis of diabetes your eating routine is an important tool for getting the best control you can in managing your disease.  The best approach to eating involves consuming a consistent amount of carbohydrates at each meal and snack to help stabilize your blood sugar.  The amount and type of carbohydrate you choose is what will break down into glucose also known as your blood sugar.  When you eat meals or snacks at regular, consistent intervals during the day, this can help prevent blood glucose spikes and improve the effectiveness of prescribed medications. This means much better blood glucose readings and an improved likelihood of avoiding serious health issues associated with diabetes.

Here are some negative effects skipping meals can have on your diabetes:

·      Reduces effectiveness of medications

Most people with diabetes have been prescribed medications to help their body in improving the utilization of how it uses glucose.  For example, certain oral diabetes medications may tell your pancreas to make insulin or if you inject actual insulin and them delay or skip a meal, your blood sugar can drop to dangerous levels.  Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is defined as anything less than 70 mg/dl.  This needs to be treated with 15 grams of a fast-acting carbohydrate to bring your blood sugar level up to a safe level. 

A study published in The Pharmaceutical Journal found that people may be at risk for hypoglycemia when they take certain diabetes medications without food.  These same people can also experience a risk of gastrointestinal side effects such as nausea and diarrhea if medication is not taken with a meal.

Always follow dosing direction on all medications to ensure they work as they are intended to.  If directions indicate to take with a meal or food, do not neglect to do so.  Keep snacks in your car, in your desk at work, or in your purse if you are unable to eat a meal when its time to take your medication.

·      Increases your chances of bingeing on junk food

 The problem of skipping meals is that once you do, at some point you will get hungry.  This increases the likelihood of falling victim to choosing easy-to-fix, calorie-dense foods that are not particularly healthy.  A study published in the European Journal of Neuroscience showed that your brain is primed to seek out high-calorie foods when it is starved.

Making meals does not have to be time-consuming or elaborate.  When time is tight, piecing a meal together of plain Greek yogurt topped with fresh berries with chopped walnuts or almonds, paired with a hard-boiled egg or turkey stick, can be an excellent meal providing a good balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. 

·      Increases weight gain

Many are surprised that skipping meals could result in gaining weight.  The practice of skipping meals to save calories actually sets the body up for fluctuations in insulin and glucose that ultimately causes weight gain rather than weight loss. 

An essential part of managing diabetes is maintaining a healthy body weight.  The more you skip meals, the less your body becomes at regulating your feelings of hunger and fullness.  Keeping yourself on a set schedule each day gets your body in a rhythm or pattern letting it know what to expect day-to-day making it easier to regulate itself in recognizing hunger cues.  Even if you do not feel hungry when meal time arrives does not mean you shouldn’t feed your body at regular intervals.  Very likely your appetite will come roaring back with a vengeance resulting in overeating and thus, subsequent high blood sugar levels.

·      Increases in fatigue, irritability, and feelings of anger/anxiety

Hunger can lead to a host of emotions. When we are not properly nourishing our body by eating regular meals, then there is little energy for our cells to rely on in order to function properly.  This can zap our energy stores. Lacking sufficient carbohydrates can make you feel confused, irritable, and even angry.  When having diabetes, skipping a meal can result in dangerous dips in blood sugar. Remember, maintaining good blood sugar control by eating regular meals is necessary to avoid diabetes-related complications in the future.

Fight off fatigue by not skipping meals – plan meals to include a lean protein such as grilled skinless chicken breast, salmon, or lean beef, paired with non-starchy vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, or zucchini.  You will still be getting in carbohydrates but without excess sugar raising blood sugar too quickly. 

In conclusion

The solution to good diabetes blood sugar control is eating regularly timed meals and snacks of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, spreading your carbohydrate servings throughout the day.  Make your meals a nourishing blend of fruits, vegetables, healthy carbohydrates, lean protein, and fiber.  When you practice this method of eating, attaining good diabetes control can be accomplished much easier.