Glucose is a simple sugar that our body produces from fat, protein, and carbohydrates from the food that we eat. It is carried to the bloodstream to produce energy to the cells. Glucose cannot be used by the cell without the help of insulin. Ingested glucose when absorbed from the intestine into the blood resulted in the increase in blood glucose or simply known as blood sugar.
Blood glucose level is the amount of glucose (sugar) present in the body. Normal blood glucose levels in humans are about 90 mg/dL to 130mg/dL throughout the day. Blood glucose is usually lower in the morning but higher every after meals. Keeping the blood sugar level stable significantly reduces the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level) or hyperglycemia (high blood sugar level) and complications such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke and heart disease, retinopathy (eye disease), neuropathy (nerve disease), and nephropathy (kidney disease).
Check your sugar level at home with a testing kit. It has a measuring device and a strip. To check your sugar level, put a small amount of blood on the strip, place the strip into the device and wait for 30 seconds and it will display the blood glucose level.
The ideal blood sugar values are
Upon waking up (before breakfast) – 80 mg/dl to 120 mg/dL Before every meals – 80 mg/dL to 120 mg/dL 2 hours after meals – 160 mg/dL or less At bedtime – 100 mg/dL to 140 mg/dL
Sugar level in blood should be checked over a period of time by a test called HbA1c (hemoglobin A1c). High blood sugar causes HbA1c to rise.
HbA1c of about 6.5% or less is good HbA1c of about 7.5% shows fairly control of diabetes HbA1c above 8.5% shows poor control of diabetes.
A person with type 2 diabetes shows that in every 1% rise in HbA1c is more likely to develop late-stage complications arising from damage to the small blood vessels.