For a proper understanding of diabetic health, you need to compare with an average healthy individual (a person without diabetes).
Blood sugar number means
To understand how your blood sugar behaves throughout the day? You need to monitor your blood sugar at different times. Your doctor can help you find suitable blood-glucose target range. Here, we provided general blood-glucose numbers based on the American Diabetes Association guidelines.
Blood-glucose level influencing factors
Seven factors can influence your blood glucose level.
- Foods you eat,
- The exercise you undertake,
- How effective you are managing your stress,
- The individualized medication you take,
- Restful sleep you get,
- The illness you have,
- Hormonal changes
Self-monitoring of glucose level is the best tool to keep track of these influencing factors. It helps you to take the necessary measures to control your blood glucose level more effectively.
Fasting blood-glucose number (before breakfast)
This test needs to be performing on an empty stomach, mostly after eight hours of fasting before breakfast. It shows how effective your long-acting insulin or medication that you take. In general, the results will be as follows:
- FPG blood sugar number is considering normal up to 100 mg/dl (or 5.5 mmol/L).
- FPG Levels between 110 and 125 (6.1 to 6.9 mmol/L) are considering impaired fasting glucose (pre-diabetes). It is slightly higher than usual but not high enough to diagnose as diabetes.
- FPG level of 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or higher absorbed on two different days to confirm diabetes.
- People with diabetes on treatment should plan to achieve between 90 and 130 mg/dL (5 mmol/L to 7.2 mmol/L).
Pre-meal blood glucose number (before lunch & dinner)
This reading should be carried out before lunch and dinner. It shows how effective your breakfast and lunchtime insulin or medication dosage.
- For a normally healthy individual, the blood sugar levels should maintain between 82 to 110 mg/dL (4.4 to 6.1 mmol/L).
- For people with diabetes, the blood sugar number should manage between 90 and 130 mg/dL (5 mmol/L to 7.2 mmol/L).
Two hours after eating (breakfast or lunch or dinner)
Blood glucose rises to its peak for a few hours after you eat (not only for people with diabetes also for non-diabetics).
- For people without diabetes, blood sugar increases modestly after eating and decreases after two hours of eating.
- A blood-glucose number between 140 to 200 mg/dL (7.8 to 11.1 mmol/L) is at risk for type 2 diabetes and called as impaired glucose tolerance or pre-diabetes.
- For diabetes, the initial increase is significantly high, and the level should remain at least that 180 mg/dL (10 mmol/L).
This reading shows if the insulin/medication you took was enough to cover the carbohydrates that you ate.
Just before bedtime
A target range for someone with diabetes is 110 to 150 mg/dL (6.1 to 8.4 mmol/L). You should not go to bed with blood sugar that is too low, because that may put you at risk of having a severe hypoglycemia episode during the night.