Current research results indicate that the presence of nicotine in diabetics affects blood sugar levels. According to tests, nicotine is the main culprit responsible for high blood sugar levels in diabetic smokers. Consistently high blood sugar levels are responsible for a number of complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and nerve damage. The conclusion is one “If you are a smoker and have diabetes, you should be worried,” – says Dr. Xiao-Chuan Liu, a researcher at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
The scientist exposed blood samples to nicotine in his laboratory studies. Glycated hemoglobin levels rose significantly. The higher the insulin dose was, the higher the HbA1c rose. For years, doctors have known that smokers with diabetes have less control over maintaining their sugar levels than non-smoking patients. But until Liu’s study, he says, no one was sure which of the more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke was responsible for the fluctuations in sugar levels. Liu used doses of nicotine comparable to those found in the blood of smokers. He says the level of nicotine he used in the lab would correspond roughly to the exposure a smoker would get by smoking one or two packs a day. He found that nicotine raises HbA1c levels by almost 9% to as much as 34.5%, depending on nicotine exposure. “The study tells us that nicotine is the most likely reason why smokers’ HbA1c levels rose,” – says Galier, a professor of medicine at the University of California David Geffen School of Medicine. Liu says doctors will use the new findings to encourage diabetic patients to stop smoking cigarettes. However, he warns that smokers should not use smoking cessation products containing nicotine, such as nicotine patches, because of their effect on blood sugar levels. Source: www.webmd.com
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