What Is The Normal Blood Sugar Range For Diabetics

Blood Sugar Chart: Summary

The fasting blood sugar, 2-hour post-meal blood sugar, and HbA1C tests are important ways to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes, as well as indicate how well a persons diabetes is being managed. If you think you have diabetes, its important to not try and diagnose yourself by doing a finger-stick with a home blood glucose meter. There are strict standards and procedures that laboratories use for diagnosing diabetes therefore, you should get tested at your doctors office or at a laboratory.

Its also important to talk with your doctor to make sure you understand a) how often you should have certain tests, such as a fasting blood glucose or HbA1C test b) what your results mean and c) what your blood sugar and HbA1C targets are.

If you have not been previously diagnosed with prediabetes or diabetes but your results are above normal, your doctor may recommend other tests and should discuss a plan of treatment with you. Treatment may include lifestyle changes, such as weight loss, a healthy eating plan, and regular physical activity. You may need to start taking diabetes medications, including insulin. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, its recommended that you learn how to check your blood sugars with a meter so that you and your healthcare team can determine how your treatment plan is working for you.

When Should I Check My Blood Glucose Level

When you should check your blood glucose levels and how often you should check varies depending on each individual, the type of diabetes and the tablets and/or insulin being used. Your doctor or Credentialled Diabetes Educator will help you decide how many checks are needed and the levels to aim for. Possible times to check are:

• Before breakfast
• Before rigorous exercise
• When you are feeling unwell

Even though your meter may have a memory, it is important to keep a record of your readings in a diary and to take this with you to all appointments with your diabetes health team. This will provide both you and your diabetes health team with important information in deciding if and how your treatment may need to be adjusted.

Most meters on the market have software which allows you to download your records in different formats such as graphs and charts. Even if you can do this, it is still helpful to keep a diary, not only for your checks but also details of your daily activities, the food you eat and other relevant information. There are some apps that record all of this information in one place. Ask your doctor or diabetes educator how you can use a diary to help you to better manage your diabetes.

Checking four times a day is usually recommended for people with type 1 diabetes. However many people check more often, such as those using an insulin pump .

How To Keep Blood Sugar In The Normal Range

To keep your glucose levels under control, the first step is to check your fasting blood sugar level every morning and make normal blood sugar levels chart. It will help you record your blood sugar levels every day, both random and fasting in the early morning. Fasting blood sugar level should be less than 100 mg/dL and, at random, it should be less than 140 mg/dL

Monitor closely when your blood sugar goes high, which food items are the triggers, and share it with your physician so that they can guide you better.

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Ways To Control Your Blood Sugar Levels

Ways individuals with diabetes can balance their blood sugar include keeping their weight in check, exercising regularly, following their medication and diet plans, and checking their blood sugar levels regularly. For some individuals, taking insulin shots may be necessary to keep glucose levels in check. Sticking to a schedule is important for individuals with diabetes. As it can help them regulate their blood sugar level.

However, just eating healthy and exercising regularly can help to a great extent. High fiber food, green vegetables, low GI fruits are all good food choices for people with diabetes. And exercises like Zumba, yoga, or just walking for 30 minutes every day can be very beneficial for bringing the blood sugar level back to normal.

What Blood Sugar Level Is Prediabetic

Prediabetes is a condition with increased blood sugar, but how is it measured? Exactly what sugar level range is considered prediabetic, and how is that different from diabetes? Here is what you need to know about blood sugar levels in prediabetes, and what you can do about yours.

If you have been told that you have prediabetes, or you think that you might have it or be at risk for it, you can take your awareness in a positive way. While nobody actually wants to think about having a chronic health condition, being aware of prediabetes can be seen as a fork in the road of life.

On one branch of the fork in the road, prediabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes. Most people who get prediabetes take this branch, and end up with diabetes. However, you can choose to take the other branch in the road because in most cases, prediabetes is reversible.

Are you at risk for type 2 diabetes? Lark Diabetes Prevention Program is a personalized program to help you lower your risk by making healthy lifestyle changes, such as losing weight and increasing physical activity. Your personal Lark coach is available to support you 24/7 on your smartphone. Lark can help you make small changes that fit into your lifestyle and have big results for your health!

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Know Your Body Mass Index

Being overweight or obese puts you at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. BMI is an easy way to estimate excess fat. Even a small change in body weight can reduce your risk of diabetes.

If your score is:

25.029.9 = Overweight/Pre-obese 30.0 and over = Obese

To calculate your BMI, you can use the BMI chart or the formulas at the bottom of this page or complete the Canadian diabetes risk questionnaire.

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How To Diagnose Blood Sugar Level

Its possible to check your glucose level without a glucose meter by pricking your finger with a clean needle and putting the drop of blood on a strip that has been dipped in a special liquid. The strip will show your blood sugar level in both mg/dL and mmol/L.

A fasting blood glucose level is the amount of glucose in a persons blood after they have not eaten for about 8 hours. The level is usually around 100 milligrams per deciliter . Its possible to measure it using a glucose meter. 80-99 mg/dL is the right amount of sugar to be present in the blood.

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Blood Sugar Target Levels For People Without Diabetes

In a person without diabetes, the body makes enough insulin to bring down the blood sugar after a meal. There is enough insulin made by the islet cells in the pancreas to deal with blood sugar. The insulin that is made by the islet cells in the pancreas works well. It is used by the bodys cells efficiently.

The blood sugar ranges listed below for the nondiabetic coincide with an A1C of 4.8 5.6 percent. This is in normal range for this laboratory value. The A1C is the average of blood sugars over a two to three-month period. A person with no diabetes and a fully working pancreas will have an A1C in this range.

Fasting blood sugar and before meal blood sugar target levels for a person without diabetes

In a person with the absence of diabetes, a normal blood sugar before eating or drinking anything upon rising in the morning would be 80-99 mg/dl. This is the range for blood sugars fasting and before meals .

If we convert the same number to mmol, the value in mmol . Now that you have a good idea of how to convert mg/dl to mmol, we will continue discussing blood sugars in terms of milligrams per deciliter, or mg/dl, for simplification. Again, this is the measurement used in the United States.

Two-hour post-prandial blood sugar for a person without diabetes

There is no insulin resistance in the person with no diabetes, so the bodys cells take the insulin up, and use it for energy. Everything is as it should be, and working properly.

Know Your Blood Sugar

Blood sugar is the amount of sugar in your blood at a given time. It’s important to check your blood sugar level, because it will:

• determine if you have a high or low blood sugar level at a given time
• show you how your lifestyle and medication affect your blood sugar levels
• help you and your diabetes health-care team make lifestyle and medication changes to improve your blood sugar levels

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What A1c Goal Should I Have

People will have different A1C targets, depending on their diabetes history and their general health. You should discuss your A1C target with your health care professional. Studies have shown that some people with diabetes can reduce the risk of diabetes complications by keeping A1C levels below 7 percent.

Managing blood glucose early in the course of diabetes may provide benefits for many years to come. However, an A1C level that is safe for one person may not be safe for another. For example, keeping an A1C level below 7 percent may not be safe if it leads to problems with hypoglycemia, also called low blood glucose.

Less strict blood glucose control, or an A1C between 7 and 8 percentor even higher in some circumstancesmay be appropriate in people who have

• limited life expectancy

Chart Of Normal Blood Sugar Levels For Adults With Diabetes Age Wise

Our body maintains a level of blood glucose for body metabolism. The normal blood glucose levels in a healthy body are between 90 to 100 mg/dL. But sometimes, these blood glucose levels may go high or low. Such high or low blood glucose levels are signs of health conditions requiring 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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Levels After Youve Eaten

Many foods have types of carbohydrates called starches and sugars. When you eat foods with these types of carbohydrates, your body breaks them down into glucose, which is a type of simple sugar, and releases the glucose into your bloodstream. Aside from glucose produced by your liver, food is the main source of plasma glucose.

Two hours after eating, your blood sugar levels rise. They rise more when you eat more carbohydrates, when you do not eat fiber, fat, or protein with your carbs, and when you eat certain types of carbohydrates, such as refined sugars and starches.

These are target values from The Joslin Diabetes Center, which include levels for people with diabetes:

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.

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Why Blood Glucose Levels Rise In Diabetes

The food we eat is converted to glucose and released into the bloodstream. Therefore, blood glucose levels are high after eating. As does the glucose generates, the body signals the pancreas to release insulin.

Insulin helps in the absorption of blood glucose by the body cells. As a result, the glucose from the blood is absorbed, and its level in the blood becomes normal again. Thus, together insulin and cell absorption helps in regulating blood glucose levels.

But in the case of diabetes, the body becomes insulin resistant, or there is insulin deficiency. Due to which the cell absorption of the blood glucose decreases. As a result, high blood glucose levels cause Diabetes. Over time, such high blood glucose levels can cause damage to nerves, kidneys, eyes, and heart.

Therefore if you have diabetes, it is essential to keep your blood glucose levels to some typical acceptable values. To help you understand blood glucose levels, a blood sugar level chart is the best option.

Summary

Blood glucose levels, if high, cause diabetes. Blood sugar level charts can help in regular monitoring of blood glucose levels.

Q What Is The Blood Sugar Level For A 72 Year Old Woman

Answer:If you are aged but completely healthy, then you are likely to have your blood glucose at a standard level. But generally, aged people are more or less vulnerable to diseases. Though it is preferable to have blood sugar in between 100-120 mg/dl rising up to 140mg/dl is acceptable in certain conditions.

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Normal Blood Sugar Numbers

• A person without diabetes typically has a fasting or resting blood sugar range of 70 99 mg/dL. ADA officially recommends that diabetics aim for 80 130 mg/dL.
• Two hours after eating a meal, the non-diabetics blood sugar is typically less than 140 mg/dL. ADA officially recommends that diabetics aim for readings less than 180 mg/dL.
• A non-diabetic persons A1C levels are less than 5.7 percent. ADA recommends that diabetics aim for 7 percent or lower A1C levels.

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Blood Sugar Target Ranges For Gestational Diabetes

The strictest and tightest control of blood sugars is necessary when a patient has gestational diabetes. This tight control is necessary to keep mother and baby safe when the mother has gestational diabetes.

In addition to increased complications for the mother, an infant born to a mother with gestational diabetes is at an increased risk of being born with a high birth weight . This condition is called macrosomia. Later on in life, the infant may be more prone to becoming obese, and to developing Type 2 Diabetes.

When the extra sugar in the mothers bloodstream crosses the placenta, the infants pancreas is signaled to make more insulin. Therefore, the infant grows too large in utero.

After birth, the infant is at increased risk of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar related to the excessive amounts of insulin their pancreas produces.

Blood sugar target ranges for gestational diabetes from the American Diabetes Association

The blood sugar target ranges for gestational diabetes coincide with an A1C of less than 6 percent. As long as this is able to be achieved without episodes of low blood sugar or hypoglycemia, this tight control is sought out

• Fasting and pre-meal less than or equal to 95 mg/dl
• One-hour post-meal less than or equal to 140 mg/dl
• Two-hour post-meal less than or equal to 120 mg/dl

For women with preexisting diabetes who become pregnant, blood sugar target levels are as follows:

If you need more information:

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How Do I Check My Blood Glucose Levels

To check your blood glucose levels, you prick your finger with the lancet and add a small drop of blood onto a blood glucose checking strip. This strip is then inserted into the meter, which reads the strip and displays a number your blood glucose level.

When and how often you should check your blood glucose levels varies depending on each individual, the type of diabetes and the tablets and/or insulin being used. Blood glucose levels are measured in millimoles per litre of blood . Your doctor or Credentialled Diabetes Educator will help you decide how many checks are needed and the levels to aim for.

Keeping a record of your blood glucose levels can be very helpful for you and your doctor or Credentialled Diabetes Educator. You can keep a diary or use a mobile phone app or website to record your levels.

What Is Normal Blood Glucose

There is no one blood glucose level that defines a person as normal. The table of blood glucose levels below gives the appropriate values at different times and in different states, according to the American Diabetes Association. For example, insulin-dependent diabetics often use an upper limit of 7 mmol/L or 140 mg/dL, while non-insulin-dependent diabetics may aim for less than 6 mmol/L or 108 mg/DL.

The blood glucose levels range between less than 100-180 mg/dL for adults from 20 years or older. Depending on your age this may vary.

• Fasting: Less than 5.6 mmol/L or 100 mg/DL
• Before meal: 3.9-7.2 mmol/L or 70-130 mg/DL
• 1-2 hours after eating: Less than 10 mmol/L or 180 mg/DL
• Bedtime: 5.6-7.8 mmol/L or 100-140 mg/DL

Be aware that the above numbers might be different for everyone depending on your doctor’s recommendations.

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Things To Do If You Have Diabetes

Common things that people with diabetes should avoid include eating lots of simple sugars, eating too much food for the activity theyve performed recently, and not following medication or exercise plans.

Some things that can be harmful to people with diabetes are smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol in excess, and eating large portions of unhealthy foods.

The person should maintain a healthy diet and exercise regularly. The doctor may also recommend taking insulin or other medications to manage their blood sugar levels.

Can Other Blood Glucose Tests Be Used To Diagnose Type 2 Diabetes And Prediabetes

Yes. Health care professionals also use the fasting plasma glucose test and the OGTT to diagnose type 2 diabetes and prediabetes. For these blood glucose tests used to diagnose diabetes, you must fast at least 8 hours before you have your blood drawn. If you have symptoms of diabetes, your doctor may use the random plasma glucose test, which doesnt require fasting. In some cases, health care professionals use the A1C test to help confirm the results of another blood glucose test.

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