What Is Your Normal Blood Sugar Level

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.

Which Is Right For You

Finding the best glucose monitoring system that is right for you is about finding the choice that best suits your needs. By considering the benefits and limitations between the different systems that are available in Canada, you can find a system that meets your individual requirements while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of your diabetes care routine.

Our glucose monitoring comparison chart provides a summary of CGM, Flash glucose monitoring devices and test strips and meters.

How Does Blood Sugar Level Work

With a lack of nutrients and food that contain glucose, the blood sugar level will begin to decline. This is known as hypoglycemia.

After blood sugar becomes low, the pancreas releases a peptide hormone called glucagon. When this happens, the glucose that is stored in the body for energy is instructed to release due to the liver. This causes the glucose to turn into glycogen, known as the glycogenesis process. This is what can help a body to regain energy as the readily stored glycogen, in the liver and muscles, will release into the body.

On the other hand, the blood sugar can also rise and become too high which is known as hyperglycemia.

When the body does not produce enough of the insulin hormone, blood sugar levels begin to increase. This is because glucose relies on the insulin hormone to help it absorb into the bloodstream. Usually, this occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin, known as type 1 diabetes, or does not respond to insulin correctly, known as type 2 diabetes.

Eating too many processed foods can also cause your blood sugar level to rise. If there is not enough insulin present in the body, too much bad food can cause your blood sugar level to build up.

For those with a normal blood sugar level, this will be due to eating the right foods and your body being able to produce and respond to insulin.

You may be wondering what exactly causes an imbalance in blood sugar levels, so here is a roundup:

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Diabetes Is Diagnosed By Any One Of The Following:

Sometimes you may have symptoms of fatigue, excessive urination or thirst, or unplanned weight loss. However, often people have no symptoms of high blood glucose and find a diabetes diagnosis surprising.

Do You Think Some Carbs Don’t Count

Your body breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars, also called glucose. It doesn’t matter where these carbs came from. You need to look at total grams of carbs in your food, not just the sugar content.

Pasta, rice, tortillas, they have a lot of glucose, Moreno says. They will increase your sugar levels, sometimes even more than candy.

Natural sugars also count. Its true that you should swap cookies for fruits. But that doesnt mean you can have loads of them, Saeed says. Moderation is key.

Gail Nunlee-Bland, MD, chief of endocrinology at Howard University Hospital, recommends eating no more than two servings of fruit a day. And try to add more non-starchy vegetables to your meals. The green leafy ones are better, she says.

Theres a handy measurement to give you a better idea of which foods, including fruits and veggies, are best for your diabetes. Its called the glycemic index . The ratings tell you how likely a food is to boost your blood sugar. For example, berries are lower on the GI scale — and lower in natural sugars — than bananas, raisins, or grapes, Saeed says.

Labels on most packaged foods in the U.S. don’t list glycemic index ratings. But you can easily find GI calculators online.

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What Is Hemoglobin A1c

Hemoglobin A1C is a lab test. It indicates an average blood glucose reading for the last 90 days. It is done when you find out you have diabetes, and every 3 months after that at clinic visits. A person without diabetes has a Hemoglobin A1C of less than 5.6%.

The chart below shows the Hemoglobin A1C result compared with the blood glucose number.

High Blood Sugar: Hidden Dangers

In the short term, high blood sugar levels can zap your energy, cause excessive thirst and urination, and blur your vision. High blood sugar levels can also lead to dehydration, dry and itchy skin, and infections. Minimizing the time spent above your target blood sugar range can help you feel your best and will help prevent complications and injury to your body.

Over time, high blood sugar affects many parts of the body. Chronic high blood sugar can start to cause noticeable changes, including:

• Memory problems
• Vision problems like blurriness, diabetic retinopathy, and blindness
• Gum disease that leads to tooth loss, which can make eating healthy foods difficult due to problems chewing
• Heart attack and stroke due to increased plaque build-up in the vessels and other vascular issues
• Kidney disease, which can lead to the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant
• Nerve damage that can cause decreased sensation in the feet and legs which increases the risk for wounds to turn into serious infections and even amputation

Nerve damage from high blood sugar can also cause a variety of symptoms including:

• Pain and tingling in the feet and hands
• Difficulty emptying your bladder
• Problems during the digestion process after eating, which can cause food to sit in the stomach too long and lead to nausea, vomiting, and erratic blood sugar levels

Checking your blood sugar frequently and taking immediate action when it is above range can reduce your risk of complications.

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Normal Blood Sugar 30 Minutes After Eating

Blood sugar is a very familiar term these days. With a huge amount of individuals suffering from diabetes, trying to maintain a healthy level of sugar in the blood has become one of the daily challenges many of us face. As a matter of fact, checking the normal blood sugar 30 minutes after eating is a key indicator for getting an idea of the state of diabetes and overall health.

In this article, well go over the normal blood sugar, how to check it, what is the normal blood sugar after meals and how to control it.

Table of Content

How Do I Check Blood Sugar Level

Checking blood sugar level is very simple thanks to the availability of easy-to-use handheld glucometers. These consumer glucometers have made it very easy to always keep an eye on your blood sugar level. They are an absolute essential for diabetics and also for people trying to maintain their blood glucose level.

• Check out Here how to choose the best diabetic blood sugar meter.

They operate by taking pin-pricks of blood onto a small electrode slip, which when inserted into the device gives a digital readout of the amount of glucose content in the blood. These devices have become extremely popular for their convenience, reliability and accuracy.

An essential laboratory test of blood glucose level is the Oral Glucose Tolerance Test or OGTT. It is a diagnostic test for DM or any glucose intolerance. Here, a blood sugar reading is taken after a 10-12 hour fast. Then another reading is taken after 2 hours after ingesting a measured amount of glucose. This test shows the bodys ability to absorb glucose, thus is a confirmatory test for DM.

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What Is Your Blood Sugar Level

The food we intake breaks down into glucose. This glucose is responsible for providing energy to our bodies. It travels through our bloodstream to different parts of our bodies.

Thus, the amount of glucose travelling through our blood is known as our blood sugar level. We identify this blood sugar level via blood test or using a glucometer. A normal blood sugar level indicates a healthy and maintained body.

However, when the glucose in our blood increases, the pancreas produces insulin to rectify it. But, the bodys inability to produce insulin leads to a health condition called diabetes. The lack of glucose in our blood can also lead to chronic diseases like hypoglycemia, kidney and heart diseases.

How To Test Your Blood Sugar Levels

After you wake up in the morning, check your fasting blood sugar levels using a blood glucose meter or continuous glucose monitor . Before you use a blood glucose meter, the ADA recommends washing your hands and using the lancing device to get a drop of blood. After you hold the test strip against the drop of blood, your blood sugar levels should appear on the meter.

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Tests For Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is diagnosed using blood tests. Youll probably be tested between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy. If your risk is higher for getting gestational diabetes , your doctor may test you earlier. Blood sugar thats higher than normal early in your pregnancy may indicate you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes rather than gestational diabetes.

Normal Fasting Blood Sugar For Person Without Diabetes

A normal fasting blood glucose for someone who does not have diabetes ranges from 70 to 99 mg/dl. The American Diabetes Association recommends a routine screening for type 2 diabetes starting at age 45. If the results are normal, the screening should be repeated every 3 years.

If have diabetes risk factors, which include being overweight or obese, having a family history of type 2 diabetes, having a history of gestational diabetes, or being of a certain race/ethnicity , you should be screened for diabetes sooner than age 45.

Children and adolescents who have diabetes symptoms or who are overweight and have a family history of type 2 diabetes, are of African American, Latino, Asian American, Native American or Pacific Islander descent, who have signs of prediabetes or a mother who had gestational diabetes should be tested beginning at age 10 and then every 3 years thereafter.

A fasting blood sugar of 100 to 125 mg/dl is indicative of prediabetes, which is a condition where blood sugar levels are above normal but not high enough to be considered diabetes. Prediabetes is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Its managed by lifestyle changes and, in some cases, medication.

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Fasting Glucose Goal: 72

Why? Previously we discussed that the ADA considers normal fasting glucose as anything < 100 mg/dl. However, multiple research studies show that as fasting glucose increases, there is an increased risk of health problems like diabetes and heart disease even if it stays within the normal range. The highlights of some of the study results include:

• Men whose fasting blood glucose was greater than 85 mg/dl had a significantly higher mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases than men with blood sugars less than 85 mg/dl.
• People with fasting glucose levels in the high normal range had significantly increased cardiovascular disease risk than people whose levels remained below 80 mg/dl.
• Children with fasting glucose levels 86-99 mg/dl had more than double the risk of developing prediabetes and type 2 diabetes as adults when compared with children whose levels were less than 86 mg/dl.
• People with fasting glucose levels between 91-99 mg/dl had a 3-fold increase in type 2 diabetes risk compared to those with levels less than 83 mg/dl.
• Among young, healthy men, higher fasting plasma glucose levels within the normal range constitute an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes. This means that as fasting glucose increases, even if the level is still considered normal, it could indicate a significantly higher risk of developing diabetes, and this is particularly pronounced if BMI is greater than 30. .

The Big Picture: Checking Your Blood Sugar

Blood sugar monitoring is the primary tool you have to find out if your blood glucose levels are within your target range. This tells you your blood glucose level at any one time.

Its important for blood sugar levels to stay in a healthy range. If glucose levels get too low, we can lose the ability to think and function normally. If they get too high and stay high, it can cause damage or complications to the body over the course of many years.

The logging of your results is vital. When you bring your log to your healthcare provider, youll have a good picture of your body’s response to your diabetes care plan. To help keep track of your levels, we have a glucose log. We also have a blood glucose log available for purchase that is smaller so you can carry it with you.

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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 levels over several 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.

If your blood sugar level goes above 250 mg/dL, you should go to the ER for immediate medical attention, says Dr. Tarugu. Emergency rooms are equipped to handle high blood sugar levels and can administer treatments like insulin therapy and fluid or electrolyte replacement.

High Blood Sugar In The Morning: Is It The Dawn Phenomenon

If you have high blood sugar levels in the morning, you may be experiencing the dawn phenomenon, the name given to an increase in blood sugar that usually occurs between 2 a.m. and 8 a.m., according to the Mayo Clinic. One reason this occurs: During the early hours of the morning, our bodies secrete higher levels of a hormone called cortisol, says Dr. Spratt. When cortisol levels are high, it can make you more resistant to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate your blood sugar levels.

“Some people have a striking dawn phenomenon,” says Dr. Spratt. “You can look at their continuous glucose tracing and see that their blood sugar level suddenly goes up at 3 a.m.” If this is the case for you, your doctor may adjust your insulin medication or suggest you use an insulin pump .

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The 411 On A1c: Normal A1c Levels And 15 Ways To Lower High A1c

The hemoglobin A1C test is the closest thing to a diabetes scorecard you can find. Whether someone has had diabetes mellitus for years or if they have just been diagnosed, they have probably heard about this test. Unlike blood sugar meters people use at home, the A1C measures an average blood sugar level over the past several months by analyzing how many of a patients hemoglobin cells have glucose attached to them. The test results keep track of how well a person is managing his or her diabetes.

Low Blood Sugar Symptoms

Hypoglycemia happens when blood glucose levels drop too low. Low blood sugar can be caused by many things including the two different types of diabetes, certain medications, alcohol, endocrine disorders, eating disorders, pregnancy , and disorders of the liver, kidneys, or heart.

Here are some of the most common symptoms that someone with low blood sugar might experience:

• Lightheadedness
• Fainting
• Tingling lips

If your blood sugar is low you might start to feel some of the first signs of hypoglycemia like dizziness, lightheadedness, or sweating. The only way to know for sure if your blood sugar is low is to test it with a glucose meter or other glucose monitoring device.

If you dont have access to these tools and start to feel the symptoms of low blood sugar, consume 15 grams of carbs or take a quick dissolve glucose tablet to raise your blood sugar levels and avoid further symptoms, according to the American Diabetes Association . Once your blood sugar is back in its target range, you can have a snack or meal to make sure it doesnt drop again.

Here are some other lifestyle and medicinal treatments that can help treat hypoglycemia:

• Eat a healthy diet full of whole foods that are minimally processed.
• Take prediabetes or diabetes medications as recommended by your healthcare provider.
• Use a glucagon kit in emergencies. Glucagon is a hormone that raises blood sugar levels quickly.

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