Why should I know my blood sugar levels? (2024)

FAQs

Why should I know my blood sugar levels? ›

It's important to keep your blood sugar levels in your target range as much as possible to help prevent or delay long-term, serious health problems, such as heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease. Staying in your target range can also help improve your energy and mood.

With this information, you can work with your health care team to make decisions about your best diabetes care plan. These decisions can help delay or prevent diabetes complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and amputation.

It gives you information on how to manage your diabetes on a daily — and sometimes even hourly — basis. Monitoring your blood sugar is important when you have diabetes, especially if you use insulin. The results of blood sugar monitoring can help you make decisions about food, physical activity and dosing insulin.

If you had a fasting blood glucose test, a level of 70 to 99 mg/dL (3.9 and 5.5 mmol/L) is considered normal. If you had a random blood glucose test, a normal result depends on when you last ate. Most of the time, the blood glucose level will be 125 mg/dL (6.9 mmol/L) or lower.

Glucose is the most important carbohydrate fuel in the body. In the fed state, the majority of circulating glucose comes from the diet; in the fasting state, gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis maintain glucose concentrations.

Drinking enough water could help you keep your blood sugar levels within healthy ranges. In addition to preventing dehydration, it helps your kidneys flush out any excess sugar through urine.

Do lifestyle modifications such as dietary restriction of sugar, physical exercise daily and consult a doctor for medications. Some foods which help in controlling blood sugar are whole wheat bread,Fruits,Yams,Sweat potato, Oatmeal, Nuts, Legumes, Garlic, Cold water fish.

After meals (1 to 2 hours after eating), your blood sugar should be: Less than 180 mg/dL (10 mmol/L) for adults.

What causes high morning blood glucose? Two main culprits prompt morning highs: the dawn phenomenon and waning insulin. A third, much rarer cause, known as the Somogyi effect, may also be to blame.

How do you feel when your blood sugar is too high? ›

increased thirst and a dry mouth. needing to pee frequently. tiredness. blurred vision.

Doctors suggest that a normal fasting blood sugar range is between 70–100 mg/dL (3.9–5.6 mmol/L). If your fasting blood sugar is consistently over 126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L), your doctor will diagnose diabetes. You can reduce your risk of high fasting blood sugar by eating your dinner earlier the night before.

Normal blood sugar levels differ depending on a person's age and other health conditions. In people who do not have diabetes, normal blood sugar ranges are: Fasting/upon waking and before meals: 80 to 99 mg/dL. After meals/before bed: 80 to 140 mg/dL.

Before they eat, an adult should have a glucose reading of 80 to 130. Afterward, the number should be below 180.

The recommended blood glucose range after fasting for 2 hours by a person who does not have diabetes is 70 to 130mg/dL. 132 is slightly high and might indicate prediabetes.

Fasting blood sugar test

In general: Less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L ) is normal. 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L ) is diagnosed as prediabetes. 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L ) or higher on two separate tests is diagnosed as diabetes.