american diabetes association | Diabetes Healthy Solutions

one touch glucose meters

Do you or someone you know have diabetes? Are you in need of a one touch glucose meters so that you can monitor your blood glucose level on a daily basis? One touch glucose meters are a great little handy tool that can come in handy.

There are many one touch glucose meters to choose from such as the one touch ultra and the one touch ultra smart which can all be very beneficial. Just the name alone, “One touch” seems to say it all because they are ranked one of the highest and best rated glucose meters out there on the market today.

All of the one touch products are highly ranked because of many reasons such as ease of use, portability, price and accurate results that they provide. The one touch also has their own glucose test strips called the one touch glucose test strips which goes hand in hand with the one touch glucose meters so that there are no complications or problems with your readings. By having the correct glucose test strips you are ensuring yourself accurate readings each and every time.

The one touch glucose meters are easy to use, cost effective and also have very accurate and reliable readings. The one touch glucose meters get high ratings each and every time by a range of professionals ranging from diabetic patients to doctors and physicians.

Who likes being stuck all the time in order to read your glucose reading? With the one touch glucose meter you can disregard that worry and actually look forward to your readings each day because of the ease of use that the meter provides.

The one touch glucose meters are the top choice among doctors, physicians and hospital staff all over because of their high ranking features, trust and reliability.

Hemoglobin A1C Test for Diabetics

When it comes to managing diabetes effectively the key is proper glucose management, and the best way to check the efficiency of the patient’s glucose management regimen is with the hemoglobin a1c test. Most diabetics are familiar with checking their blood sugar by glucometer, sometimes many times daily.

So How Does the Hemoglobin A1C Test Work?

The glucometer measures the level of glucose in a drop of blood which is placed on a test strip and read by the machine. The hemoglobin a1c is also a blood test which measures the average glucose levels over a long term period.

Hemoglobin is a protein based, iron containing component in red blood cells that is primarily responsible for carrying oxygen from the lungs and transferring it around the body to be used by the cells. Glucose also binds to some hemoglobin and stays bound to it for the length of the life of the red blood cells which is about 120 days.

The hemoglobin a1c test measures the amount of glucose bound to the red blood cells in this manner and therefore can give the physician a very good average of the patient’s average blood glucose level for as far back as the previous three to four months.

Since proper management of glucose levels is key to diabetes treatment and glucose levels should be kept as close to normal as possible twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, day and night, the hemoglobin a1c test is an invaluable aid.

People without diabetes have and A1C of less than 6 per cent. An A1C of more than 8 per cent suggests persistently elevated glucose levels.

You should aim to keep your A1C as low as possible, especially if you are young, but also to reduce your risk of hypoglycaemia. Your own targets should take into account your age, lifestyle, work practices, life expectancy, risk of diabetes complications and side effects and a host of other factors.

The diabetic patient may check their sugar many times daily, but only the hemoglobin a1c test can give and average which includes round the clock glucose levels.

Diabetes Maintenance with Hemoglobin A1C Test

By using the hemoglobin a1c test the patient and physician can work together to make the type of medication, diet, and lifestyle changes which will keep the patient’s blood glucose level as normal as possible, as much as possible.

Managing your glucose levels requires teamwork in which you are the central player. The best way to stay in control is to harness the support of your diabetes care team. Involve your whole family and work mates as a team to optimize your diet, organise activities and improve everyone’s health!

Find out more about good EXERCISE for Diabetics HERE!

Are Healthy Blood Glucose Levels Important?

These days’ people are more aware of their health than ever, and for an ever increasing number of people maintaining healthy blood glucose levels can be a matter of life and death. Even as death and disabilities from cancer, stroke, and heart disease decreases the number of people diagnosed with diabetes continues to grow each year. Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body is either producing insufficient quantities of the hormone insulin which regulates healthy blood glucose levels or the cells of the body have developed a resistance to the action of the insulin which is produced.

What is Normal Glucose Level?

Understanding what is normal glucose level will give you a target to aim for when you are checking your blood sugar levels.

Depending on if you live in Canada or the United States, the Diabetes Associations in each country reports the blood sugar numbers slightly different because of the differences in imperial and metric measurement systems.

American and Canadian Diabetes Associations
Normal Glucose Levels Chart

Association	Fasting Glucose	2 Hours After Eating	A1C**
American Diabetes Association (mg/dl)	< 100	< 140	< 6%
Canadian Diabetes Association (mmol/L)	< 6.1	< 7.8	< 6%

**A1C is the major component that makes up your blood sugar and the A1C measurement is an average of your blood sugar levels over the past 120 days. Please also note that the numbers for pregnant women and children age 12 and under are different than those listed in the char.

A normal blood sugar level is anywhere between 80 mg/dl to 140mg/dl. The sugar amounts that diabetics have are often way above the normal 140 mg/dl. At this point damage is permanently suffered, so it is very important that steps are taken to regulate these levels through diet, exercise and medication.

Working with a Health Professional

The guides listed above on this page are just guides. In order to obtain a more precise Normal Gluclose Level range, you will need to work with a health care professional. There are several factors that can influence your normal range including:

Age
Medical Condition
Other Factors

By working with a professional you will get a better picture of what your normal glucose level will be, and then from there you can start to design your life around staying within that range.

While it may sound bad, what you’re more likely to find is that your improved lifestyle that focuses on keeping your blood sugar at bay will actually have a lot of hidden benefits. There’s no time like the present to take control of your life, and even thought you could look at getting diabetes as a negative situation, if you look on the bright side, this is a good wake up call to start living a more healthy, active life.

An Explanation of the Different
Glucose Level Measurements

It’s important to understand what each of these different blood sugar measurements actually means and why they are important:

Fasting Glucose
2 Hours After Eating
A1C

The reason why this is important, especially if you are a new diabetic, is that during your fasting glucose test you may not show signs of diabetes.

The problem arises however when you measure your blood 2 hours after eating you may clearly see that you are out of the recommended range.

Fasting Glucose

The fasting glucose measurement is taken after you haven’t eaten or drank anything for 8 hours. This gives you a base measurement of how your body is handling the blood sugar when it is ‘at rest.’

Normal Range:

< 100 mg/dl – American Diabetes Association,
< 6.1 mmol/L – Canadian Diabetes Association

2 Hours After Eating

This test is important because it helps you to see how certain meals are affecting your blood sugar, so that you can deal with the situation accordingly. The two hour marker is also important because after 2 hours, the blood sugar of non-diabetics will have returned to its normal state.

Normal Range:

< 140 mg/dl – American Diabetes Association,
< 7.8 mmol/L – Canadian Diabetes Association

A1C

This test shows if your treatment is working over time, which is important to see how you are progressing and if any adjustments need to be made.

Normal Range: < 6%

Blood Glucose Ranges

Blood glucose ranges are usually between 60 and 120 in a person with a normal metabolism. If a person has a metabolic dysfunction such as diabetes where the body either does not produce sufficient quantities of insulin or is resistant to the insulin produced the blood glucose ranges can swing wildly and at times can become so out of control as to be debilitating, sometimes even leading to coma or death. Prolonged, but less severe abnormal blood glucose ranges can damage the kidneys, liver, and even the heart, and can be a contributing factor to the development of glaucoma.