What Should Your Normal Blood Sugar Level Be

How To Use A Glucose Meter

Glucometers are easy to use. A person will:

People with type 2 diabetes normally need to test blood sugar concentrations at least once each day.

Those who need to take insulin, which includes all people with type 1 diabetes and some people with type 2, have to test their blood several times a day.

Continuous glucose monitoring can be an alternative method for glucose monitoring for people with diabetes.

An accurate reading of the blood glucose level can help achieve good diabetes control.

Is A1c Supposed To Be The Same As My Blood Sugar Average

A1C measures your average blood sugar over the past 3 months.

You can have your A1C measured with a blood draw in your doctors office or lab. Some doctors can also perform a fingerstick blood test to check your A1C level.

When sugar enters your bloodstream, it binds to a protein called hemoglobin. People with high blood sugar have a higher percentage of the hemoglobin protein coated with sugar. Your A1C result will give you an indication of what percentage of your hemoglobin is bound to sugar.

• Standard : Less than 5.7%
• Prediabetes: 5.7% to 6.5%
• Diabetes: 6.5% or higher

In general, the ADA and other clinical guidelines for people with diabetes is that you should work closely with your diabetes care team to determine whats best for your A1C goal. Generally, clinicians advise for an A1C of being safely 7.0%, though that can vary depending on ones individual care plan.

Its important to keep in mind that A1C levels do not reflect all of the nuances of ones diabetes management, meaning it doesnt always reflect your glucose variability, meaning that A1C doesnt offer insight into high or low blood sugars, and it can be manipulated if your blood sugars fluctuate regularly.

As a result, many diabetes professionals have moved away from considering the A1C the sole gold standard for someones diabetes management. Instead, they use that A1C in addition to time in range figures, showing how often your glucose levels are in your individualized target range.

When Should You Check Your Blood Sugar Levels

Its important that people who suspect they have diabetes or pre-diabetes monitor their glucose levels regularly, checking at least once daily and charting the results in order to know what is normal for themselves. If it seems like something isnt quite right with ones blood glucose. It may be time to talk to a doctor about getting a diabetes diagnosis. Its also important that parents make sure their children are well aware of any symptoms of high or low blood sugar. So they know when they need to alert an adult about what might be going on if their parents are not around.

Don’t Miss: Can Sugar Cause Frequent Urination

What To Read Next

Take your diabetes medication: All the medication tips you need to stop diarrhea and make injecting easier.

Meal plans: Whether youre looking for a budget meal plan, low carb meal plan, vegetarian or easy cooking we have them all here, for free!

Managing Type 2 diabetes: All you need to know to manage your condition, with terrific food and exercise tips.

Translating Your A1c To A Blood Sugar Level

Using this easy calculator from the ADA, you can translate your most recent A1C result to an eAG or estimate average glucose level.

You can also use this translation when working to improve your A1c and achieve closer to normal blood sugar levels.

If you know an A1c of 6.5 is an average blood sugar level of 126 mg/dL or a range of 100 to 152 mg/dL, then you can look at your current blood sugar results on your CGM and meter and pinpoint which time of day youre frequently higher than this range.12% = 298 mg/dL or range of 240 347 11% = 269 mg/dL or range of 217 31410% = 240 mg/dL or range of 193 2829% = 212 mg/dL or range of 170 2498% = 183 mg/dL or range of 147 2177% = 154 mg/dL or range of 123 1856% = 126 mg/dL or range of 100 1525% = 97 mg/dL or range of 76 120

Normal blood sugar levels in a person without diabetes can result in an A1c as low as 4.6 or 4.7 percent and as high as 5.6 percent.

Just a decade or two ago, it was rare for a person with type 1 diabetes to achieve an A1c result below 6 percent. Thanks to new and improved insulin and better technology like continuous glucose monitors and smarter insulin pumps, more people with diabetes are able to safely achieve A1c levels in the higher 5 percent range.

Read Also: What Kind Of Sugar Is In Fruit

Low Blood Sugar Symptoms

Low blood sugar, also called hypoglycemia, is what happens when blood glucose levels drop too low. People who take insulin may have low blood sugar if they take too much insulin or mistime the insulin dose in relation to food, or if they exercise more than usual when there is fast-acting insulin on board .

Your healthcare provider will tell you when and how to check blood sugar, and when and how to treat low blood sugar. A low blood sugar is generally considered to be less than 70 mg/dL. A dangerously low blood sugar is below 54 mg/dL.

Low blood sugar can also be caused by many things including certain medications or combinations of medications, alcohol, endocrine disorders, eating disorders, 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

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 monitor it with a continuous glucose monitor such as the Dexcom G6.

If your blood sugar is low , a general rule of thumb is to consume 15 grams of fast-acting carbs to raise your blood sugar levels and avoid further symptoms, according to the American Diabetes Association . Your healthcare provider will give you a plan for what to do in case of low blood sugar that is specifically designed for you.

What To Expect From Your Blood Sugar In The Morning

After an overnight fast, a normal blood sugar level is less than 100 milligrams per deciliter , according to the American Diabetes Association . But, according to Susan Spratt, MD, an endocrinologist and associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine, not everyone with type 1 or type 2 diabetes has to shoot for “normal” levels.

“If you’re young, the goal may be to get your fasting blood sugar levels to less than 120 mg/dL,” Dr. Spratt says. But if you’re older and have other health conditions, that number may be higher, she says.

The ADA points out that not everyone will have the same blood sugar level goals. Instead, your endocrinologist or doctor will calculate your target number based on your age, how long you’ve had diabetes, whether you have health conditions like heart disease and other factors.

Keep in mind, too, that your fasting blood sugar levels can be too low. For example, a morning blood sugar reading below 70 mg/dL can indicate a hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar.

Read Also: What Is The Lowest Sugar Wine

What Is The Normal Blood Sugar Level For Teens

Teenagers are recommended to have a blood sugar range between 70-150 mg/dL. It’s not easy for a teenager to maintain a tight range, therefore it’s important to aim for these numbers to give them a bit more flexibility.

• Fasting: 70-150 mg/dL
• Preprandial : 90-130 mg/dL
• Postprandial : Less than 140 mg/dL
• Bedtime: 90-150 mg/dL

How Should Blood Sugar Levels Be Before And After Eating

Ideally, before eating , your blood sugars should be between 80-130 mg/dL. One to two hours after eating , your blood sugars should be below 180 mg/dL.

Blood glucose levels can be affected by the type of food consumed, how much, and when but also many other different factors like physical activity, taking other medications, having other medical conditions, stress, age, an illness, and even menstrual periods.

You May Like: Where Is Sugar Beach In Maui

Your Diabetes Continuing Care

You can expect to be scheduled for checkups every three to six months, depending on your overall health, the types of medications you take and your personal needs.

You should use self-blood glucose monitoring. Well also instruct you on when to report poor control or complications to your health care providers.

When you come in for follow-up visits, your health care provider will review the medications youre taking and the results of self-blood glucose monitoring. Well then evaluate occurrences of unusually high or low blood glucose levels, any changes youve made in medications, and diabetes complications or adherence problems you may have experienced. Additionally, well talk with you about psychological and social factors and other medical illnesses influencing your health.

Follow-up physical exams will include weight, height , blood pressure and foot checks. Lab tests that produced abnormal findings in previous visits will be repeated. Well run tests for glycosylated hemoglobin and, if appropriate, blood glucose. Lipid studies are checked annually in adults and every two years in children. A urine test is performed annually. If urine contains protein, well do further tests to assess kidney function.

What Number Should My Blood Glucose Be

Blood glucose is measured in mg/dl. The normal range for blood glucose for people without diabetes is 70 to 120 mg/dl.

The Diabetes Center has guidelines for blood glucose readings. This is called a target range. There may be times when your healthcare provider gives you a different target range, like for bedtime, with exercise, or after eating.

Nationwide Childrens Hospital Diabetes Center Target Blood Glucose Ranges

The goal is to keep the blood glucose within the target range most of the time.

Read Also: How Much Sugar Are You Allowed On Keto

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.

People With Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes can occur during pregnancy. Often, it is a temporary condition, but it can lead to pregnancy complications.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with a diagnosis of gestational diabetes aim for blood sugar levels similar to those for people without diabetes, although individual targets may vary.

The ADA offers the following as a guideline:

A wide range of complications can also result, such as slow wound healing and frequent infections. Other possible complications include:

Don’t Miss: Could Low Blood Sugar Cause Headaches

Normal Blood Sugar Levels For Teens

There are no set guidelines by the American Diabetes Association for typical blood glucose for teens without diabetes. So, the NutriSense Team recommends aiming for the same guidelines for healthy children/adults without diabetes, keeping glucose between 70-140 mg/dL.

For teenagers with diabetes, glucose should stay between 70-150 mg/dL throughout the day. Controlling blood glucose during the teenage years could be more difficult, so maintaining a healthy diet and exercise become even more critical.

Warning Signs Of High Blood Sugar

While there are ways to track, monitor, and determine whether you have high blood sugar, you may not always know when youâre experiencing it. Often, there are no warning signs until your levels rise much higher than the expected range.

For example, adults with prediabetes may not realize they have this condition based on symptoms alone. However, here are some classic symptoms of high blood sugar that may occur:

• Increased cravings

Itâs easy to attribute these symptoms to other causes, some as seemingly routine as feeling thirsty or getting a slight headache! Thatâs where wearing a continuous glucose monitor can be invaluable. You may often be able to connect these symptoms to blood glucose spiking throughout the day when youâre monitoring your levels with a CGM.

You May Like: What Does It Mean When Your Sugar Level Is High

How Can One Tell If I Have Diabetes By Examining My Blood

Your body converts sugar, also called glucose, into energy so your body can function. The sugar comes from the foods you eat and is released from storage from your bodys own tissues.

Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. Its job is to move glucose from the bloodstream into the cells of tissues. After you eat, the level of glucose in the blood rises sharply. The pancreas responds by releasing enough insulin to handle the increased level of glucose moving the glucose out of the blood and into cells. This helps return the blood glucose level to its former, lower level.

If a person has diabetes, two situations may cause the blood sugar to increase:

• The pancreas does not make enough insulin.
• The insulin does not work properly.

As a result of either of these situations, the blood sugar level remains high, a condition called hyperglycemia or diabetes mellitus. If left undiagnosed and untreated, the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, blood vessels and other organs can be damaged. Measuring your blood glucose levels allows you and your doctor to know if you have, or are at risk for, developing diabetes.

Much less commonly, the opposite can happen too. Too low a level of blood sugar, a condition called hypoglycemia, can be caused by the presence of too much insulin or by other hormone disorders or liver disease.

What Should My Blood Sugar Levels Be

Your blood sugar level changes depending on what you’ve eaten, whether you’ve exercised and other factors but we have some general guidelines to determine what levels are healthy.

For generally healthy individuals who haven’t eaten for eight hours or more, a normal blood sugar level is between 70-99 mg/dL. When you’ve eaten in the past two hours, it should be no higher than 140 mg/dL. To refresh your chemistry knowledge, that unit is milligrams per deciliter and it’s measuring the amount of glucose present in your blood.

Only a medical professional can diagnose diabetes or another issue with your blood sugar, so if you’re concerned about your blood sugar levels, check with a doctor.

Don’t Miss: How To Know If Blood Sugar Is High Or Low

What Is Normal Blood Sugar Level According To Your Age

Prolonged high blood sugar can have adverse effects on your health. It can potentially damage the vessels that supply blood to the other important organs. This can lead to stroke, heart diseases, vision problems, kidney diseases, nerve issues, etc.

This is why it is necessary to understand the normal blood sugar level, especially as per your age. Such information can help you stay on top of your health at all times and not run around for information at the very last minute.

The following article shall highlight details that can help you maintain a normal blood sugar level.

Measuring Your Average Blood Sugar With A1c

Your A1c is a good measure of your average blood glucose control over the past two to three months. The lower your A1c, the better your blood sugar control. An A1c of less than seven percent is normal for people without diabetes. For people with diabetes, the American Diabetes Association recommends an A1c below eight percent.

The ADA provides is with a clear range of blood sugar levels next to the A1c percentages.

Also Check: How To Lower High Blood Sugar

How Can Continuous Glucose Monitoring Help You Maintain Optimal Glucose Levels

It is not uncommon for your glucose levels to increase after a meal: you just ate food that may contain glucose, and now your body is working on getting it out of the bloodstream and into the cells. We know that we want to prevent excessive spiking of glucose levels because studies show that high post-meal glucose spikes over 160 mg/dl are associated with higher cancer rates. Spikes are also associated with heart disease. Repeated high glucose spikes after meals contribute to inflammation, blood vessel damage, increased risk of diabetes, and weight gain. Additionally, the data shows that the big spikes and dips in glucose are more damaging to tissues than elevated but stable glucose levels. Therefore, you should strive to keep your glucose levels as steady as possible, at a low and healthy baseline level, with minimal variability after meals.

Keeping your glucose levels constant is more complicated than just following a list of eat this, avoid that foods. Each person has an individual response to food when it comes to their glucose levels studies have shown that two people can have different changes in their glucose levels after eating identical foods. The difference can be quite dramatic. One study found that some people had equal and opposite post-meal glucose spikes in response to the same food.