Your heart is a little like a machine that gets dialed to low, medium or high depending on the intensity of the exercise you're doing. However, machines aren't human, so if you've been leading a sedentary lifestyle a low-intensity workout can still dial your heart to high.

A fasting blood sugar level is usually ordered by a physician either to check for a new diagnosis of diabetes or to monitor a person who is known to have diabetes. Ideally fasting blood sugar is tested shortly after you get up in the morning, 8 to 12 hours after eating or drinking anything other than water.

The glycemic index of a food relates to how quickly it is absorbed and how strongly it affects blood sugar and insulin levels, as explained by Harvard Medical School. The higher the GI, the greater effect on insulin. Irregardless of the exact type, nuts are a low-glycemic index, or GI, food.

Blood glucose levels and potassium share a complex relationship. Certain complications of diabetes, including diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperglycemia, involve both high blood glucose levels and abnormal potassium levels. Some medications can also cause both elevated blood glucose levels and potassium imbalances.

In the United States, blood glucose readings are usually expressed in units of milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood, or mg/dL. Internationally and in scientific journals, blood glucose is typically expressed in millimoles per liter, or mmol/L.

In 2010, approximately 1.9 million people age 20 and older were diagnosed with diabetes, according to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. If you have chronically high blood sugar levels, you may be able to regulate your sugar levels by taking cinnamon.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with diabetes choose whole-grain, high-fiber and low-sugar cereals. Be careful, however, when choosing “whole-grain cereals.

In the past, diabetics were advised to avoid fruit due to the sugar content, but modern diabetes diets allow fruit as a part of an overall healthy and balanced meal plan. Diabetics need to maintain strict control over blood sugar levels and try not to consume unhealthy foods that can lead to diabetes complications.

A normal blood sugar level ranges approximately 60 to 120 mg/dL, states "Pharmacotherapy: A Pathophysiologic Approach." Low blood sugar, termed hypoglycemia, is a measurement of less than 60 mg/dL, which is a sugar level that is not adequate to fuel your body.

Diabetes is a chronic condition managed primarily through diet. Diabetics who are most successful in the management of their condition adhere a to a strict schedule of meals and snacks with equal amounts of carbohydrate in each.

When you eat carbohydrates, your body converts them into glucose—the sugar that serves as your body’s primary energy source. The hormone insulin helps move glucose into the cells.

Numbness and shock-like electrical sensations in the fingers can cause discomfort and lead to difficulty picking things up or weakness in the fingers. Nerve problems generally cause these symptoms. The burning, tingling or prickling sensations, called paresthesias, need evaluation if they last more than a few minutes.