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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than half of Americans have prediabetes or another type of diabetes, which means about 50 percent are looking for ways to help keep their blood sugar (aka blood sugar) within range. While eating foods that help lower blood sugar is a start, there may be other simpler strategies, such as staying hydrated. But can drinking water really lower blood sugar?
Meet the experts: Sapna Peruvemba, MS, RDN, nutritionist, PhD. student in nutritional sciences at Loma Linda University; Jamie Baham, MS, RDN, LD, a cancer prevention registered dietitian at Ladybug Nutrition; and Victoria Finn, MD, an endocrinologist at a Manhattan medical office.
While hydration doesn’t replace any of your diabetes medications, it does play a role in avoiding high readings. Here, experts explain the role water plays in keeping blood sugar levels stable, and how much water you should drink to see results.
How dehydration affects blood sugar
If you’re dehydrated or just don’t drink enough water, your blood sugar levels may rise. “When you’re dehydrated, the water levels in your blood drop, which means the sugars that are already there become more concentrated,” explains Dr. Sapna Peruvemba, a nutritionist and Ph.D. student in nutritional sciences at Loma Linda University. “Since plasma is about 92% water, even mild dehydration can cause significant increases in blood sugar.”
Jamie Baham, MS, RDN, LD, a registered dietitian in cancer prevention at Ladybug Nutrition, likens the effect to the difference between water and syrup. The blood of a well-hydrated person will become thinner and more watery, while the blood of someone who doesn’t drink enough water will be thicker and contain a higher concentration of sugar. According to the University of Maryland Medical System, even mild dehydration can cause blood sugar to rise by 50 to 110 mg/dL in people with diabetes. This is noteworthy considering that the difference between normal blood sugar levels and those in diabetics is only 25 mg/dL.
Can drinking water lower blood sugar?
“Water is a useful metabolic support tool, but it does not treat high blood sugar, nor does it replace insulin or diabetes medications. While it can be of some help to the body, it cannot by itself quickly reverse post-meal spikes or correct long-term high blood sugar,” says Victoria Finn, MD, an endocrinologist at Manhattan Medical Office.
That said, water has several different ways to support healthy blood sugar levels. “Drinking water helps your kidneys filter excess glucose from your blood through your urine. The more hydrated you are, the more efficiently your body can remove excess sugar,” explains Peruvemba. “Adequate water intake also affects hormones such as vasopressin, which play a role in blood sugar regulation.” In summary, the study Journal of Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders Research has found that drinking water before each meal can help lower fasting blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
These effects also help prevent false high blood sugar readings, Dr. Finn said. “Dehydration, even mild dehydration, can concentrate glucose in the blood, causing blood glucose readings to appear higher than they actually are.” This is a problem because false highs can lead to incorrect treatment, which can be dangerous. It’s always a good idea to drink some water and double check.
Can water help treat diabetic ketoacidosis?
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is the most common serious complication of type 1 diabetes. “Diabetic ketoacidosis occurs when the body lacks enough insulin to use glucose for energy,” explains Dr. Finn. “This forces the body to burn fat, produce ketones, and acidify the blood, which is dangerous.” She points out that while staying hydrated can support blood sugar maintenance, drinking water alone can neither prevent nor stop DKA. “DKA is fundamentally caused by a lack of insulin, not a lack of water,” says Dr. Finn. “Once ketone production begins, it can only be stopped by injecting insulin and providing emergency medical care.”
How much water to drink can lower blood sugar
Whether you have prediabetes, diabetes, or normal blood sugar levels, you should drink the same amount of water. “People with high blood sugar don’t necessarily need more “But because dehydration is more likely to raise blood sugar in these people, controlling fluid intake becomes even more important,” Peruvumba said.
The recommended daily water intake for women is 11.5 cups, or 92 ounces, and for men, the recommended daily water intake is 15.5 cups, or 124 ounces. About 20 percent of that usually comes from food, so women should drink at least 9.2 cups, or 74 ounces, of water and other fluids each day, while men need to drink 12.4 cups, or 99 ounces, to maintain healthy blood sugar levels, according to the Mayo Clinic.
bottom line
“Drinking water may be helpful in situations where blood sugar is mildly elevated, spikes early after a meal, or when high blood sugar is primarily caused by dehydration,” Dr. Finn says. “But it’s not an adequate stand-alone solution.”
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