Normal Sugar Level In Healthy Individuals
Blood glucose levels, also known as blood sugar levels, can be normal, high, or low. The sugar levels are generally measured after 8 hours of eating.
A normal blood sugar range for a healthy adult after 8 hours of fasting is > 70 mg/dL. and < 100 mg/dL.
While a normal sugar level in a healthy person after 2 hours of eating is between 90 to 100 mg/dL.
Blood glucose levels change throughout the day. Major factors affecting such change in the blood glucose levels are as follows:
Summary
What Are The Signs & Symptoms Of Dka
The symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis usually don’t develop all at once they usually come on slowly over several hours. People who have DKA may:
- feel really tired
- feel really thirsty or pee way more than usual
- have a dry mouth and signs of dehydration
These symptoms are caused by the high blood sugar levels that usually happen before someone develops DKA. If the person doesn’t get treatment, these signs of DKA can happen:
- unconsciousness
What Is Considered Low Blood Sugar
For the average person with diabetes, low blood sugar means anything under 80 mg/dL .
Very low blood sugars are any readings under 40 mg/dL. Anything under 40 mg/dL is considered extremely dangerous and potentially fatal.
A person is at a significantly higher risk of falling into a diabetic coma if they cannot get their blood sugar above 40 mg/dL for several hours.
If a person is experiencing a severe low, and they are unable to chew food or swallow liquids, they will require an emergency shot of Glucagon .
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What Are The Best Ways To Lower Blood Sugar Quickly
Even if you are disciplined with your food habits, blood sugar spikes can easily happen. There are ways in which you can lower your blood glucose levels immediately. However, you need to consult a doctor before trying these remedies at home. Remember, this is not something that you can take lightly, and your life may depend on it.
Below, we will discuss a few ways in which you can lower blood sugar levels immediately:
Why Your Blood Sugar Level May Be Low
If blood sugar drops below 70 mg/dL, it is below normal levels. This can be caused by a variety of factors, such as:
- Not eating enough or missing a meal or snack
- Reducing the amount of carbohydrates you normally eat
- Alcohol consumption especially if youre drinking on an empty stomach
- Taking too much insulin or oral diabetes medication based on carbohydrates or activity levels
- Increased physical activity
- Side effects from medications
If you have diabetes, keep your blood glucose meter and sources of fast-acting glucose close by in case your blood sugar drops. This is especially important for people with hypoglycemia unawareness, which is a condition that causes symptoms of low blood sugar to go unnoticed.
Eating balanced meals and snacks at regular times throughout the day is a big part of maintaining normal blood glucose levels. Check out our article on meal planning for diabetes to better understand the three macronutrients where calories come from and which have the biggest effect on blood sugar.
Meal Planning for Diabetes: How to Optimize Your Diet >
Everyone will respond differently to certain factors, which is why its important to have individualized target glucose levels. To help you reach your target blood glucose goals, work with your healthcare provider to discuss modifications to your diet, physical activity, or medications, and alert them of other factors like a recent illness or stressful event.
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Think About Whats Going On
Irene Dunbar, 73, of Durham, N.C., woke up one morning recently to discover her blood sugar was at 119, which is high for her. âI had a cold and had had orange juice yesterday and I normally do not drink orange juice and I thought, âI better not do that,â she said. When she gets a high blood sugar reading, she tries to remember if she had anything recentlylike breadthat she knows are triggers, and avoids them next time.
Why Is My Blood Sugar So High After Eating
It is common for people to have a brief jump in their blood sugar after eating a meal, especially if it contains carbs before the insulin generated in their bodies begins to work to decrease the surge. This is referred to as a post-prandial spike. These increases can be greater and stay longer in people with type 1 diabetes – who are unable to make their own insulin.
This is due to the fact that the insulin they inject may take longer to begin acting than the insulin that a person without diabetes would normally make in their body to lower these post-meal rises.
Furthermore, it is critical to understand that individuals with type 1 diabetes may have changes in various digestive enzymes, which will result in quicker digestion of our meals . This may also impact the spike’s magnitude.
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Target Blood Sugar Levels In Children With Diabetes
Children younger than 6 years old Blood sugar in mg/dL Bedtime 110-200
Children under 6 years of age should have blood glucose levels that range from about 80 to 200 mg/dL each day. This range is considered healthy, and the amount of glucose in a childs body will fluctuate from the time they wake up to after theyve eaten meals and again before bedtime. For this reason, kids with diabetes or hypoglycemic episodes may have to have their blood sugar levels tested in the middle of the night by their parents. Many children with type 1 diabetes wear a continuous glucose monitor , which displays glucose levels all the time and mostly eliminates the need for finger sticks.
Random Blood Sugar Level Chart
Random blood sugar testing is done at any time of the day. This test is done outside the regular testing timetable. It confirms diabetes, during and after the treatment of diabetes. A level of 200 mg/dl or greater indicates diabetes mellitus.
The major objective of an RBS test is to check random blood sugar levels. An Random Blood Sugar range of 200mg/dl or above clearly shows the presence of diabetes. The test helps to timely treat the disease via monitoring during and after treatment. The random blood sugar level test is recommended if an individual complains of the following signs:
- Recurrent urination
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When To See A Healthcare Provider
Getting professional medical advice from a healthcare provider like an endocrinologist is the best way to learn more about whether your blood sugar levels are where they should be. Not getting proper treatment for low or high blood sugar levels can be serious and lead to health complications, especially for those with diabetes. Diabetes complications include nerve damage, kidney disease, heart disease, or heart attacks.
If you see a healthcare provider about your blood sugar levels, be prepared to answer questions about risk factors like what you eat, how much you exercise, and about your family history. Some healthcare providers may want to take a blood sample to test your blood sugar levels. They may also order an A1C test, which is a blood test that measures blood sugar control over three months. You may have to fast eight hours beforehand to get accurate test results, so its always a good idea to check before your appointment. Your healthcare provider can create a diabetes treatment plan if you are prediabetic or have diabetes.
Be sure your treatment plan includes instructions on when you would need to seek emergency medical care. Emergency rooms are equipped to handle high blood sugar levels and can administer treatments like insulin therapy and fluid or electrolyte replacement.
If My A1c Is Normal My Glucose Is Good
An A1C result thatâs below 5.7% is normal âs standards, but having a result below that number isnât the end of the story. Pregnancy, hemoglobin variants, anemia, liver disease, and certain medications can cause inaccurate A1C results.
Additionally, the A1C test is measuring your average glucose value over the past 3 months, but averages inherently do not capture highs and lows. So, you could have a normal average while also having abnormal glucose spikes. The A1C test should only supplement your regular blood sugar testing, not replace it completely.
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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.
What Are The Tips To Lead A Healthy Life With Diabetes
The below tips can help in keeping the blood sugars in control and reducing spikes. They include:
Eating a Consistent Diet: Diet plays an important role in managing blood sugar levels in diabetics. They must take small, healthy meals every two hours to keep up with their blood sugars and medicines. This helps avoid major fluctuations in blood sugar levels. It is pivotal to take a steady carbohydrate diet that does not include empty calories like those in processed foods. A diet rich in fiber helps in keeping blood sugars within limits. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats constitute a balanced diet.
Getting Regular Exercise: Along with reducing excess fat in the body and keeping the heart healthy, simple exercises like brisk walking or cycling have a multitude of benefits. One important benefit is keeping the blood sugars under control and helping the body cells to use insulin more efficiently. Daily physical activity for 30 minutes per day on at least five days a week is recommended.
Reducing Stress: Stress is a culprit that can lead to various unfavorable conditions in the body. Managing stress prevents blood sugars from rising. Meditation, listening to music, journaling, going for a short walk in nature, or cooking a meal are stress busters that have to be followed regularly.
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Fasting Blood Sugar Test
This test can be done in the lab or the healthcare providers office with a simple finger stickor your doctor may prescribe a meter and have you test regularly at home.
A fasting blood sugar level indicates what your blood sugar is when you havent eaten for at least 8 hours. For adults without diabetes, a normal fasting blood sugar is less than 100 mg/dL. A fasting blood sugar level of 100-125 mg/dL indicates prediabetes, and 126 mg/dL or higher indicates diabetes.
Why Your Blood Sugar Level May Be High
Based on the ADA guidelines above, if your blood sugar is above 180 mg/dL two hours after a meal, it is considered above the normal range. What might cause your glucose or blood sugar to rise? Consider the following factors:
- Consuming more carbohydrates or a larger meal than usual
- Not taking enough insulin or oral diabetes medication based on carbohydrates or activity levels
- Reduced physical activity
- Side effects from medications like steroids or antipsychotics
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How To Test For Ketones
You can use a urine test strip or blood ketone meter and ketone test strip to test for ketones at home. Testing either urine or blood is important, but when possible, a blood test is preferred because it gives you and your care team more precise information about your ketone levels. Because urine may have been in the bladder for some time, the results from these tests may show levels that are either higher or lower than the ketone levels that are actually circulating in your body. It is also very important to know that urine test trips degrade over time, so if you are using this method, you need to look at expiration dates carefully.
Your diabetes care team can give you specific directions about when you should check for ketones, but in general, you should check for them when your blood glucose is 240 mg/dL or higher. You should also check for ketones if you notice any of the DKA symptoms listed above or if you are sick it is possible to have ketones while your blood glucose levels are within range .
At-home urine test strips will change color to show the level of ketones in the urine. They typically report results as negative, trace, small, moderate or large. Blood ketone meters will provide a number that indicates the ketone levels. The following ranges are generally used:
Blood Sugar Levels Chart Ranges
There are advanced treatments and home remedies available in todays time that make checking and managing blood sugar levels easy. However, there is another problem and that is the ease of availability of processed foods, alcohol, and lack of physical activity.
As people do not have enough time to cook or exercise, they consume more processed food and do not exercise, this increases the risk of developing diabetes. But, if you exercise regularly and consume healthy and nutritious food then you can overcome this health issue.
So, all you have to do is just focus more on your health by losing weight with exercise and eating right.
According to the statistics of the World Health Organisation¹ , every year over 1.6 million Americans dies due to diabetes. Now you can imagine, how many millions of people die every year due to diabetes all over the world.
Fortunately, with the help of modern treatment and testing machines, blood sugar levels can be checked regularly and lives can be saved.
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What Causes High Blood Sugar Levels
Managing diabetes is like a three-way balancing act because you have to watch:
All three need to be balanced. If any one of these is off, blood sugar levels can be too. In general, higher than normal blood glucose levels can be caused by:
- not taking your diabetes medicine when you’re supposed to or not taking the right amounts
- not following the meal plan
- not getting enough exercise
- having an illness, like the flu
- taking other kinds of medicines that affect how your diabetes medicines work
A single high blood sugar reading usually isn’t cause for alarm it happens to everyone with diabetes from time to time. But if you have high blood sugar levels a lot, let your parents and your diabetes health care team know. Insulin or meal plans may need adjusting, or you may have an equipment issue, like an insulin pump that isn’t working right. Whatever the case, make sure you get help so you can get your blood sugar levels back under control.
Chart Of Normal Blood Sugar Levels For Adults With Diabetes Age Wise
The amount of glucose present in blood fluctuates during the day and at night. Our body maintains a level of blood glucose for metabolism. The normal sugar level in a healthy body is between 90 to 100 mg/dL. But sometimes, these blood sugar levels may go high or low due to various factors. Such high or low blood glucose levels are signs of health conditions that need/ require attention and blood glucose can be kept at healthy levels with various Diabetes Reversal Methods and medical attention. This article gives in-depth information about normal blood sugar levels chart for adults with diabetes according to age.
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The Danger Of Low Blood Sugar
Low blood sugar, also known as hypoglycemia, can become a lot more dangerous more quickly. Hypoglycemia, if left untreated, can quickly result in diabetic coma and death.
Low blood sugars will not lead to permanent complications in most cases but cause frequent, short-term complications in the form of being physically unable to function when experiencing a low. They require fast-acting glucose as treatment.
Symptoms of low blood sugar can hit different people at different times, and some people may not feel their low blood sugars at all , which can be very dangerous.
Continuous glucose monitoring systems and diabetes alert dogs can help people detect their lows earlier, before they become extremely dangerous.
Hypo unawareness occurs in about 40% of people with type 1 diabetes, and less frequently in people with type 2 diabetes.
Additionally, one study showed that the average person with type 1 diabetes experiences two episodes of low blood sugar per week!
Low blood sugars can happen for many reasons, all of which result from too much insulin in the bloodstream and not enough glucose for the body to function properly.
Reasons can be anything from taking too much insulin for food, to accidentally over-bolusing with an insulin pump, to not finishing a meal, to drinking alcohol in excess, or even after physical exertion and exercise while not reducing basal insulin settings appropriately.