Q: I am a 54 years old diabetic. I take Glimipride (2 mg) daily for controlling my blood sugar levels. I test my sugar levels daily in the morning after 8 to 9 hours of fasting. Today, my sugar level was 115 mg/dl in the morning. But when I checked it after my morning walk, it rose up to 134 mg/dl. I had just taken a glass of water. Why did my blood sugar levels increase?

A:This is because our body's capacity to produce glucose increases while we fast or do some exercise. The main source of glucose in blood during fasting state is liver. In first step, glycogen is broken down to glucose and once this is exhausted liver makes glucose from fat or protein (gluconeogenesis). This is not a surprise at all.