When there is excess glucose in your bloodstream, your kidney makes it a point to flush out all that glucose and turn it into urine in an attempt to keep your body healthy. As a result, you’ll probably need to urinate more. 

This also causes you to feel more thirsty and drink even more water to compensate. 

High blood sugar causes the lens of the eyes to swell which alters your visions and ability to see clearer. 

One of the most common signs of diabetes is fatique. High levels of sugar in your blood can slow down blood circulation, causing you to feel tired and sleepy. This is because oxygen doesn’t get to all parts of your body quickly. 

According to Bibi, frequent urination, thirst and fatigue are the most common signs she’s seen in her clinic. 

If your blood sugar levels remain uncontrollably high, your body can no longer convert the food you eat into energy, causing you to feel hungry all the time. This symptom is known as polyphagia. 

While PM Lee spoke about how the sugar levels in white rice can often be as bad as drinking two cans of sugary drinks, the truth is, you don’t always have to avoid white rice. 

There are white rice alternatives out there, including Japanese brand, Kinmemai. The brand offers white rice that’s full of benefits and nutrients, thanks to its polishing process. Unlike most rice brands, Kinmemai’s polishing process removes just the indigestible waxy layer around the grain and keeps all the nutrients in. Plus, because the rice grains absorb more water during the cooking process, you’ll tend to eat less too. 

Want to make the switch to brown rice but don’t quite like the texture? Mix some brown rice with white rice, as suggested by PM Lee! Soon, you’ll get used to the texture of brown rice and come to enjoy it too. 

As mentioned previously, the high sugar levels in blood can slow down the blood’s ability to circulate around the body. Poor circulation means that oxygen doesn’t get to the wounds fast enough to help it scab and heal. 

Wounds in non-diabetics should start to scab within two days.

One of the misconceptions people with diabetes tend to have is that they think they cannot get better when they’ve been diagnosed with diabetes. “I’ve seen  many patients benefit from weight loss and achieve better sugar control.  Some also think that eating sugar caused diabetes but in fact diabetes has various risk factors such as family history and weight,” says Bibi.