Why Does Diabetes Make You Thirsty?
Two of the most common symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst and increased urine production.
These symptoms are so prevalent in diabetics that they are often the reason why someone visits the doctor and is eventually diagnosed with the disease. But it is no coincidence that the two symptoms appear to be directly connected.
Why Diabetes Makes You Thirsty
Diabetes is a condition characterized by an excess buildup of sugar in the body. This buildup is due to the body's inability to process sugar correctly; instead of sugar being used for energy, it ends up in the bloodstream.
As with all other material in the bloodstream, sugar eventually makes its way to the kidneys. The kidneys' function is to filter out impurities from the blood and expel them from the body by way of urine. But when sugar starts to collect in the kidneys, they sense a problem. In order to remove the excess sugar, they begin to work harder but are still not able to handle the increased load.
The kidneys need more fluid to handle the extra sugar volume. They find this fluid in the only resource that they have, by removing it from the body's tissues, leaving the tissues lacking sufficient hydration. This action automatically notifies the brain that there is a deficit of liquid in the body, and the brain responds by putting out messages that the body requires more fluids to replenish what has been taken from the tissues, causing excessive thirst.