What Are Normal Glucose Levels?

what are normal glucose levels
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.

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Normal Glucose Levels

Normal Glucose Levels
Normal Glucose Levels

Not long ago people would laugh and call you a wimp or a worrier if you mentioned that you were concerned with normal glucose levels. of course you may first have to explain what a glucose level was. In those days people got up to a full breakfast of eggs, gravy, biscuits, and bacon so loaded with cholesterol that they should have been able to hear their arteries hardening and it was not uncommon for a person to be dead of heart attack or stroke before they reached the ripe old age of fifty. Nowadays, due to advancements in medical science and more knowledge about proper nutrition death and disability rates from heart attack, stroke, and cancer are on the decrease, but diabetes rates continue to rise making maintaining normal glucose levels ever more important for an ever growing number of people.

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What is Normal Glucose Level?

What is Normal Glucose Level
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

what is normal glucose level
what is normal glucose level

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%

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