Living With Diabetes? Your Kidneys May Deserve as Much Attention as Your Blood Sugar

 



When you have diabetes, the day starts with numbers. Fasting blood sugar in the morning, blood sugar after meals, HbA1c every three months. Good numbers make for an easy day; high numbers weigh on your mind all day. But a new study suggests that what drives hospital days is not the blood sugar number.

Researchers in Sweden analyzed one year (2019) of medical records from 1,446 diabetes patients aged 75 and older. The study appeared in BMC Geriatrics. Counting hospital days during that year, the strongest predictor was not blood sugar control — it was advanced chronic kidney disease. In other words, patients with badly weakened kidneys accumulated more hospital days than those with slightly high blood sugar.

Why? When diabetes goes on for years, high blood sugar gradually damages the tiny blood vessels in the kidneys. The kidneys are like the body's water purifier, filtering the blood and flushing out waste. When that purifier weakens, waste builds up and the whole body struggles. That is why declining kidneys so often lead all the way to hospitalization.

So what can you do? It's simple.

First, keep up with kidney checks. Get your eGFR blood test and urine test regularly. If you have diabetes, check at least once a year — this is also the American Diabetes Association's recommendation.

Second, manage your blood pressure too. High blood pressure makes kidneys decline faster.

Third, don't skip regular checkups. Kidneys can quietly worsen without symptoms.

Add one mind practice. Don't ride an emotional roller coaster over a single blood sugar number. A number is just a traffic light telling you about your body's condition — the number itself is not the illness. With a mind that sees the whole body, do one act of care at a time: drink enough water, eat less salty food, and don't skip your medication.

Honesty requires a few caveats. This was an observational study analyzing lab values and hospital records from the same single year (2019), so it did not prove cause and effect. And it absolutely does not mean blood sugar doesn't matter — in fact, patients with very poor blood sugar control also had 44% more hospital days. Blood sugar control is the foundation; kidney care goes on top of it. If you have kidney problems or take medication, be sure to talk to your doctor.

This article shares general health information. If you have a medical condition or take medication, please consult your doctor.
Reference: Magamba et al., BMC Geriatrics 2026, 26(1), Article 1254 (1,446 Swedish patients aged 75+ with type 2 diabetes; one year of 2019 records analyzed). DOI: 10.1186/s12877-026-08386-7

A few widely known supplements for blood sugar (for reference)

  1. Magnesium — a mineral known to be involved in blood sugar regulation. Many products on the market come as one tablet a day (this describes product forms, not a recommended dose).
  2. Chromium — known for supporting insulin action and commonly seen in blood-sugar supplements. However, study results are mixed, and the American Diabetes Association does not recommend chromium supplements for people with diabetes. If you take diabetes medication, it could lower your blood sugar too much, so talk to your doctor first. There are also case reports of kidney and liver injury, so extra caution is needed if your kidneys are weak.
  3. Alpha-lipoic acid — an antioxidant often included in diabetes-related supplements. How common it is and what a typical dose is could not be confirmed, so no specific figures are given here.

Please read: if your kidneys are weak, supplements can burden them too. These products are "widely known," not "must-take." Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking them.

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