What Is The Normal Range For Blood Sugar
In general, the American Diabetes Association’s recommended blood sugar levels are9:
- Between 70 and 130 mg/dL before meals
- Less than 180 mg/dL after meals
Your range is yours alonebased on your health, age, level of activity and other factors. And remember that your target is a range you’d like to stay within, not a single number.
Keep Track Of And Learn From Your Blood Glucose Checks
You should keep a record of your glucose checks in the format you prefer. Perhaps you like writing your results into a record book. Or you want to go high-tech and use one of the many mobile or online apps that are available. Find what works best for you.
Keeping track of your results is important because they enable you and your provider to look back and observe trends and patterns in your numbers. With this information, you and your provider can make changes in and improve your management as needed. Don’t wait for your provider to download your meter at each visit. Keep track of your results, observe them, and be ready to discuss them with your provider at each visit.
Make use of any data you collect:
Circle, highlight, or make note in some way of the numbers that are outside your target range.
Three glucose levels from the same time of day that are out of range are a pattern. If you don’t know what to do about the pattern, call your health care provider.
If you use a logbook to record your results and run out of room, go to the meter manufacturer’s website. Some have log sheets you can print.
What Is The Dawn Phenomenon
Another reason for high nighttime blood sugar levels is the dawn phenomenon. The dawn phenomenon occurs early in the morning when the body naturally signals your liver to produce glucose, giving your body the energy it needs to wake up.
The hormonal changes associated with the dawn phenomenon happen to people with or without diabetes, though those without diabetes do not experience hyperglycemia. If you take insulin, you may need to try a new basal insulin or adjust the timing and amount of your basal dose or your nighttime basal rates to cover an early morning rise.
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When Should I Check My Blood Sugar
How often you check your blood sugar depends on the type of diabetes you have and if you take any diabetes medicines.
Typical times to check your blood sugar include:
- When you first wake up, before you eat or drink anything.
- Before a meal.
- Two hours after a meal.
- At bedtime.
If you have type 1 diabetes, have type 2 diabetes and take insulin, or often have low blood sugar, your doctor may want you to check your blood sugar more often, such as before and after youre physically active.
Spinach Best Food For Diabetes
Spinach isrich in proteins and amino acids. One cup of spinach has approximately 5 gramsof proteins. It is abundant in minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium,and potassium which lower high blood pressure. The high fiber content in itsleaves helps to lower blood sugar. Protein, minerals, and fiber are magicingredients that balance insulin levels and keep you healthy.
How to add it to your diet:
- Add spinachto your salads and soups
- Makedelicious green smoothies
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Why Do Diabetics Need To Check Blood Sugar Levels
Monitoring blood sugar levels is essential for diabetic management. Levels will be affected by exercise, diet, age, family history, and weight. People with diabetes either cannot produce insulin or do not produce sufficient amounts. Insulin regulates blood glucose levels. Glucose is energy for the cells and food for the brain. When blood sugar levels fall or go too high, the individual can become very sick.
Blood sugar levels can reveal the condition of the liver and pancreas. To keep organs functioning properly and to prevent further medical complications, diabetics need to check blood sugar levels. Monitoring blood sugar will help the diabetic understand which factors affect insulin levels. The monitoring will also reveal the effectiveness of diabetic treatment.
Signs Your Blood Sugar Is Too High
Did you know that too high blood sugar can lead to serious health problems? If you suffer from diabetes, then your blood sugar levels might be too high.
If youre worried that yours is and dont know where to start, this blog post will delve into some of the early signs and symptoms of high blood sugar and offer tips on lowering your blood sugar if needed.
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How Do I Check My Blood Sugar
The usual blood sugar check involves sticking your finger with a small needle called a lancet, putting a drop of blood on a test strip, and using a meter that displays your blood sugar level. Blood sugar meters and test strips are available at your local pharmacy, through mail order, or through your healthcare provider. There are many different types of meters. Your healthcare provider can help you select the meter that is best for you.
If you have insurance, check with your insurance company to see if you are covered. If you do not have insurance, check with your caregiver for other options.
Blood Sugar Can Determine Treatment Options
The 2018 standards of care in diabetes have recommended the following:
Most patients using intensive insulin regimens should perform self-monitoring of blood glucose prior to meals and snacks, at bedtime, occasionally postprandially, prior to exercise, when they suspect low blood glucose, after treating low blood glucose until they are normoglycemic, and prior to critical tasks such as driving.” 2
When prescribed as part of a broad educational program, SMBG may help to guide treatment decisions and/or self-management for patients taking less frequent insulin injections or noninsulin therapies.”2
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How Do Carbs Affect Blood Sugar
Carbs in food make your blood sugar levels go higher after you eat them than when you eat proteins or fats. You can still eat carbs if you have diabetes. The amount you can have and stay in your target blood sugar range depends on your age, weight, activity level, and other factors. Counting carbs in foods and drinks is an important tool for managing blood sugar levels. Make sure to talk to your health care team about the best carb goals for you.
What Is The Normal Blood Sugar Level For Adults
As we age, our bodies become less able to regulate blood sugar levels as well as they used to. Thats why the ADA recommends that older adults aim for a fasting blood sugar level of less than 100 mg/dL. After eating, its ideal that your blood sugar level is below 180 mg/dL.
The ADA recommends that most adults with diabetes aim for the following blood sugar goals:
- Fasting: Less than 100 mg/dL
- Preprandial : 70-130 mg/dL
- Postprandial : Less than 180 mg/dL
- Bedtime: 100-140 mg/dL
If you experience high blood sugar levels or low blood glucose levels compared to this range you should speak to your doctor.
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Before And After Exercise
This is crucial, because exercising with a low or even in-range blood sugar level can be dangerous, depending on the length and intensity of the exercise you plan to do.
Make sure to work with your doctor to determine an appropriate pre-exercise blood sugar level, but people usually like to have their levels sit a little higher than normal before starting any vigorous cardiovascular exercise to prevent severe hypoglycemia.
On the other hand, some peoples blood sugars tend to rise during exercise, especially if they are doing weightlifting or types of exercise that spike adrenaline levels in the body. Its important to make sure your blood sugar is at an appropriate level in case it will rise during your workout.
You also dont want your blood sugar to be too high before exercise, either. The Mayo Clinic actually advises against people with diabetes exercising if their starting blood sugar is above 250 mg/dL.
This is due to the fact that if a body is exercising without enough insulin in the bloodstream, the liver and kidneys will inadvertently release more sugar into the body, increasing your number even more and putting you at risk for dehydration, ketones, and even increased risk of spiraling into diabetic ketoacidosis .
Always check your blood sugar after exercise as well, as some people require a post-exercise bolus to combat spikes due to temporary pump settings that had decreased their basal rates.
Causes Related To Lifestyle
Physical inactivity
Exercising prompts your body to burn more energy than usual, and, as a result, consume more glucose. Maintaining a low level of physical activity, on the other hand, means more glucose will remain in the bloodstream. This raises your overall blood glucose values in the process.
Exercise also makes our body more insulin sensitive, which means we will require less insulin for the rest of the day to control glucose levels.
Stress
Part of the bodyâs fight-or-flight response to stress is to produce additional glucose. Another facet of that response is an increase in the hormone cortisol. High cortisol can reduce the bodyâs sensitivity to insulin. As a result, blood glucose levels may also increase.
Poor sleep
A lack of quality sleep can inhibit how much insulin your body can release. It can also cause the production of cortisol, which makes it harder for insulin to work. When your bodyâs insulin cannot properly metabolize the glucose in your blood, the glucose remains there and your glucose levels rise.
Get better insight into your glucose levels
Want to gain a better understanding of how your body responds to glucose? Try monitoring your glucose levels in real time with the Nutrisense Continuous Glucose Health Program.
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What Could Be The Worst Effects Of High Blood Sugar
If the condition of high blood sugar continues, then it might lead to blindness, degeneration of external organs, damage to kidney and blocking of a bile duct. It will lead to a slow and painful death.
Its a proven fact that consumption of all these will undoubtedly alter the blood sugar level. But, medication is the most vital part. Being in touch with the doctor and taking medicines on time has proved its worth in maintaining blood sugar level.
How Many Times A Day Check My Blood Sugars On Insulin
Of course, if youre on insulin thats a little different story. So if somebody is on basal insulin, in this case, I would suggest checking the blood sugar before you go to bed and then before you wake up. The reason for that is especially initially during the titration stage. Because we dont exactly know how much insulin you will need. So, we start you from somewhere and we titrate you to the goal. In that stage, you always have to want to check the blood sugar at night and in the morning.
What a lot of people dont understand is why were doing this. The reason is that the long-acting insulin is designed to keep your blood sugar stable overnight and during the day as well. Your liver is constantly making blood sugar. That is regulated by insulin and insulin sensitivity. When your insulin resistance especially when you have diabetes, you know that your liver does not realize that theres some insulin. So the liver keeps making too much sugar. In order to overcome the insulin resistance, if youre not able to exercise, have good dieting, the insulin you are making may not be enough. Just simply diet and exercise sometimes is not enough either. In those cases, we start basal insulin just to keep the blood sugar stable.
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Other Tips For Checking:
- With some meters, you can also use your forearm, thigh, or fleshy part of your hand.
- There are spring-loaded lancing devices that make sticking yourself less painful.
- If you use your fingertip, stick the side of your fingertip by your fingernail to avoid having sore spots on the frequently used part of your finger.
How Often Should You Check Your Blood Sugar With Type 2 Diabetes
As with Type 1 diabetes, your doctor will likely set up an individualized plan that is built specifically for your situation.
How many time a day you are asked to check your blood sugar level will depend on things like your overall health, your diet and the type of insulin you were prescribed. If you are taking multiple insulin injections each day, you will likely be asked to take your blood sugar before meals and before bed.
If you are taking long-term insulin solutions, such as a continuous glucose monitor, you may not have to take quite as many readings.
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How Often Should You Test Your Blood Sugar
How often you test your blood sugar depends on which type of diabetes you have, your blood sugar range and what kind of treatment your doctor prescribes for you. Your doctor will provide guidance on how often you should test it. If you have type 2 diabetes and take insulin to manage it, your doctor may suggest you test your blood sugar two or more times per day, usually before meals and sometimes before you go to bed. If you use noninsulin medications or manage your type 2 diabetes with diet and exercise, you may not need to test it as often.
What Happens If My Blood Glucose Level Becomes Too Low
Sometimes blood glucose levels drop below where they should be, which is called hypoglycemia. For most people with diabetes, the blood glucose level is too low when it is below 70 mg/dL.
Hypoglycemia can be life threatening and needs to be treated right away. Learn more about how to recognize and treat hypoglycemia.
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Are You Newly Diagnosed
How often to check blood sugar type 2 diabetes for newly diagnosed? The number of glucose records depends on the health condition. If the doctor has a particular plan for you, its better to follow the frequency of records at the early type 2 diabetes stages. Otherwise, the situation can get worse without proper monitoring.
Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
If your test results show you have prediabetes, ask your doctor or nurse if there is a lifestyle change program offered through the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program in your community. You can also search for an online or in-person program. Having prediabetes puts you at greater risk for developing type 2 diabetes, but participating in the program can lower your risk by as much as 58% .
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Make A Note Of Your Readings
It may sound obvious, but you must record your readings. Note them down in a diary, a notebook or in your phone calendar. Some meters have software that lets you do this. You could try a diabetes app too.
You and your healthcare team can then look back over your results to see if you need to adjust your treatment.
What Else Can I Do To Help Manage My Blood Sugar Levels
Eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting regular physical activity can all help. Other tips include:
- Keep track of your blood sugar levels to see what makes them go up or down.
- Eat at regular times, and dont skip meals.
- Choose foods lower in calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt.
- Track your food, drink, and physical activity.
- Drink water instead of juice or soda.
- Limit alcoholic drinks.
- For a sweet treat, choose fruit.
- Control your food portions .
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What Is A Well
For some people, these blood sugars we talked about just above may not sound like well-controlled but Im talking about general purposes. Because our goal for diabetes depends on the patient. We individualize goals. Sometimes we are very strict with patients. Lets say a pregnant patient. We want to keep them less than 90 in the morning. A pregnant woman vs an 80-year-old frail woman does not have the same blood sugar goals. So, we dont tell An 80-year-old woman you have to wake up below 90 because we know that theyre going to be at risk of dropping their blood sugar in that age too low. It can be very hard on them and it can actually be very dangerous. So, what we try to do here trying to manage risk based on the patient so thats why your doctor should give you the Individual goals. You should know exactly what your goal should be . So, what your personal goal should be between you and your physician
Whats My Target Range
You might be asking, what’s the normal range for blood sugar levels? The answer is, there is a healthy range that you should ideally be aiming for. The infographics above show the general guidelines, but your individual target range for your blood sugar levels may be different. Youll healthcare team will agree with you what it is.
Youll get different readings at different times of the day, depending on things like what youve eaten and how much you are moving around. Heres a guide to help you get started on finding your target range:
If youre a child with type 1 diabetes
- when you wake up and before meals: 4 to 7mmol/l
- after meals: 5 to 9mmol/l
If youre an adult with type 1 diabetes
- when you wake up and before meals: 5 to 7mmol/l
- before meals at other times of the day: 4 to 7mmol/l
If you have type 2 diabetes
- before meals: 4 to 7mmol/l
- two hours after meals: less than 8.5mmol/l
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