InVite® Health Blog

Hot Weather and the Impact on Blood Sugar?

Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND

Everyone knows hot weather can make you feel hot and sticky and just plain old yucky! But what most people do not realize is that hot weather can also lead to fluctuations in our blood sugar. This means that hot weather can make it more difficult for those with diabetes to regulate their blood sugar levels. Let us get into it, shall we?

One way that excessive heat can affect our blood sugar is by triggering an increase in how much we sweat. This increase in sweating can lead to dehydration which in turn leads to an increase in our blood sugar! Extreme heat can also trigger our body to produce cortisol, the stress hormone!  Among its many functions in the body, this hormone helps to regulate blood sugar levels. When you make more cortisol your blood sugar will be higher. In addition to affecting cortisol levels the stress of extreme heat can stimulate the hypothalamus and influence the way it affects insulin, thus affecting how well insulin works in our body. Sunburn, a common concern during these hot days, can also trigger the hypothalamus to change how insulin works. This can lead to insulin resistance and as a result the blood sugar will be higher. (2) Extreme heat not only affects how well we respond to insulin but can also affect the ability of our body to absorb any injected insulin! As a result, you will have higher blood sugar levels than expected. (3) In my years of working for Invite I have seen an increase in blood sugar levels in people during the summer quite often! In fact, in my clinical experience it is common for people to notice a change in their A1c or morning blood sugar readings during the summer. I have had plenty of people say Dr. Claire my blood sugar reading has been much higher than normal, but I have not changed my diet! What is going on?? I tell them it is simply extremely hot weather! I tell them how to adjust their supplements and that it will go back to normal when the weather does. And sure, enough, it does normalize as the weather cools down! So, if your blood sugar seems higher during extreme heat waves do not get upset, it is not something that you are “doing wrong” but is a natural side effect of the weather.

Now I know I have focused on high blood sugar but in some case extreme heat can lower blood sugar levels. While heat stress can increase blood sugar if a person’s blood sugar is already low or at the lower end of normal the heat can cause “the blood sugar levels to plummet.” (4) Studies have also found that heat can increase glucose metabolism in those that are overweight. (5) What this can mean for a diabetic is that the glucose will be metabolized faster than expected and your blood sugar may drop to low levels. Now remember how I said that extreme heat and sweating can affect our ability to absorb insulin leading to less medicine being absorbed? (3) Well, it is true HOWEVER in some cases the hot weather can increase insulin absorption leading to tooo much medicine and lower blood sugar levels. (6)

I bet I know what you are thinking, high blood sugar, low blood sugar which one is it? And just what type of diabetes is most affected by heat? Simply put, extreme heat just overall makes blood sugar harder to control. It can trigger either high or low blood sugar. The reason I have not talked about which type of diabetes is most affected by heat is because in my experience anyone with any form of diabetes is at risk for blood sugar regulation issues when there is extreme heat!

What can you do to help regulate blood sugar when there is too much heat?

• Make sure to check your blood sugar often during the summer especially before any outdoor activities that may increase sweating or body temperature.
• Stay hydrated during the summer! This can include increasing fluids and even including certain hydrating foods!
• Reduce foods that contain added sugar. Do you have a sweet tooth? Instead of Orange juice you can use Oranges Hx. For a fancy beverage add it to carbonated water! If you like milk shakes do not forget Invite’s Cocoa Hx! You can add 1 or 2 cups of milk of choice to a blender, 1 banana or avocado, 2 scoops of Cocoa Hx, ice, and blend. I know the avocado sounds weird. But it makes a creamy shake full of nutrients like potassium and healthy fats!
• Reserve exercise for cooler parts of the day!
• Moderate any alcohol intake since it dehydrates you. (1)
• Do not forget to protect your medicine and diabetic supplies since they could be damaged by heat. (3)
• Magnesium has been found to help regulate blood sugar. (7) Studies also show it is helpful in reducing the blood sugar in gestational diabetes. (8) Please see Invite’s Magnesium Glycinate, Magnesium citrate and Bio-avail Magnesium
• Chromium has also been found to regulate high blood sugar. (7) Please see Invite’s Chromium as well as Gluco Hx!
• Cinnamon as stated previously helps to regulate blood sugar (9) Please see Invite’s C-Betics
• Biotin has been found in studies to help regulate blood sugar in gestational diabetes. (10) Please see Invite’s Biotin formula!

Sources:

1. https://www.bayhealth.org/community-wellness/blog/2021/august/heat-and-diabetes-six-tips-you-need-to-know
2. https://www.nutrisense.io/blog/how-heat-and-humidity-affects-your-blood-sugar-7-tips-for-beating-the-heat
3. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-manage-your-diabetes-in-extreme-summer-heat
4. https://extension.okstate.edu/articles/2024/diabetes_heat.html
5. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7379279/
6. https://www.houstondiabetesinstitute.org/blog/1331914-how-to-manage-blood-sugar-levels-during-hot-weather/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027280/
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027280/
9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26406393/
10. https://ijpp.com/IJPP%20archives/2017_61_2/159-165.pdf