Diabetes Care | Diabetes Healthy Solutions

What Are Normal Glucose Levels?

What are normal glucose levels? This is the kind of question that most people never ask. Most people could care less about blood glucose levels and live blissfully unaware of how glucose levels can affect health, unless they suddenly find themselves diagnosed with diabetes.

Heart disease, cancer, and stroke rates are all on the decline, but diabetes rates are rising at a staggering rate and an increasing number of people find themselves concerned with the question of, “What are normal glucose levels?”

In order to answer the question, “what are normal glucose levels?” one should first understand what glucose is and how it works. Glucose is basically what fuels every cell in the body. When we ingest sugars and carbohydrates the body metabolizes them into glucose which is actually a type of simple sugar. The glucose goes into the bloodstream where insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, causes the cells to “open up” so that the glucose can enter the cell and be used for fuel.

Without glucose the body would cease to function as surely as trying to run a car without gas, and higher than normal levels of glucose can damage many different body systems, causing kidney damage, heart problems, neuropathies, glaucoma, or even coma and death. Like most everything in medicine the answer to the question, “what are normal glucose levels?” may vary from patient to patient based on factors such as age, weight, other health conditions, and even exercise levels. Because of this, there are no hard and fast answers, but in most cases if you asked a doctor “what are normal glucose levels?” he would answer that normal glucose levels are usually between 60 and 110 in a normal person. If you check your sugar regularly and find that it is running higher than 110 or lower than 60 it is probably a good idea to stop asking “what are normal glucose levels?” and go see your doctor to find out if your body is metabolizing glucose correctly.

Using Blood Glucose Charts

Diabetes is quickly becoming one of the greatest health care concerns of modern times, and if you are a diabetic the best way to keep a handle on your diabetes is by keeping track of your blood sugar by using blood glucose charts. Diabetes, if not properly treated, can lead to heart problems, kidney failure, peripheral neuropathy, coma, and even death. The only way to keep these things from happening is to keep your blood sugar as close to normal as possible for as much of the time as possible and this can be done with blood glucose charts.

Peripheral Neuropathy

Peripheral neuropathy is a general term that means nerve damage in the peripheral nervous system. This damage may occur due to some sort of trauma to the nerves or as a result of any of several disease processes. Peripheral neuropathy may occur in any one of several varieties, but the most common type, and the type most people think of when the name is mentioned is symmetric polyneuropathy which generally effects the feet and legs and is commonly seen in diabetic patients. The reason this type of peripheral neuropathy is so common is that while heart disease and hypertension rates are currently on the decline, the number of people who are diagnosed with diabetes each year continues to climb steadily each year.

How Bad Are High Blood Sugar Numbers?

How bad are high blood sugar numbers? For many people this question never comes up because their body metabolizes glucose correctly and high blood sugar isn’t a concern. This is easily understandable as most people never bother to care about things that don’t directly affect them. The concerning thing is that the number of diabetics diagnosed every day is growing and many of them choose not to be concerned about high blood sugar numbers despite the negative health effects that high blood sugar numbers can and will cause.

Blood sugar, or glucose, is used by every cell in the body as fuel. When we eat sugars or carbohydrates the body metabolizes them into glucose which circulates in the blood stream. As the body needs the glucose for fuel the brain signals the pancreas to release insulin, which is a hormone that is responsible for allowing the blood glucose to enter the cells and be used as fuel. In diabetics either the pancreas has ceased to produce insulin, or the cells of the body have become resistant to the action of insulin. While it may not sound too bad to have an extra amount of fuel circulating in the blood, the fact is that high blood sugar numbers mean that the glucose has built up to the point that it can begin to cause damage to the bodies systems.

Those with high blood sugar numbers must follow their prescribed treatment regimen as closely as possible in the effort to maintain their blood sugar numbers as close to normal as possible. High blood sugar numbers that are left untreated can cause heart problems, kidney damage, liver damage, damage to the walls of blood vessels, glaucoma, blindness, coma, and even death. In order to live a long, healthy and normal life the diabetic should always strive to keep high blood sugar numbers from happening.

The Importance of a Normal Fasting Blood Glucose

If you or someone you know has a family history of diabetes or has already been diagnosed with diabetes a normal fasting blood glucose is one of the most important things that can be had to control the detrimental health effects of the disease.

While glucose is important to the body because every cell in the body uses glucose for fuel, when glucose levels rise to the point where a normal fasting blood glucose cannot be maintained the high glucose levels can begin to damage nearly every body system. Most people are familiar enough with diabetic complications to know that highly elevated blood glucose can lead to heart and kidney problems, neuropathy, coma, and even death.

A normal fasting blood glucose is generally considered to be between 60 and 100 mg/dl, but of course this isn’t a hard and fast rule because it can be affected by age, weight, and underlying health conditions. Only a doctor can say for sure what your normal fasting blood glucose should be. Once this has been determined it is up to you as the patient to work with the doctor, keep track of your blood glucose levels, take your medications and follow dietary restrictions as prescribed. This is the only way to maintain your normal fasting blood glucose level as much as possible.

If you or someone you know begins to develop the three most common indicators of high glucose, which are increased thirst, increased appetite, and increased urination, it may be time to visit your doctor for a glucose tolerance test. This painless test involves ingesting a known quantity of a glucose solution then having your blood glucose checked periodically over what is generally a 2 hour period. In this way you will know if your body is able to maintain the normal fasting blood glucose.