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What is the normal range for blood sugar?

What is the normal range for blood sugar? For diabetics keeping a normal range blood sugar level is key to survival. Too much and the body begins to suffer damage, too little and you may have to even go to the hospital. Diabetes is where the pancreas stops or slows in the creation of essential chemical called insulin. Insulin is a chemical that the body uses to change the sugar in the bloodstream into fuel that the cells can use. When there is not enough insulin the sugar levels may rise. When the sugar levels reach to high levels the body begins to become damaged. The damage that most diabetics take is damage to the heart, eyes, nerves, and kidneys. The damage cannot be reversed so it is key to control your blood sugar. So what is normal range for blood sugar?

For normal people a normal blood sugar range is anywhere between 60 mg/dl and 120 mg/dl. (the amount depends on when the last meal was eaten and the size of the last meal eaten) When glucose levels get over 140 mg/dl it begins to damage the body so it is key to use diets, glucose monitors, and exercise. Diets are a main weapon against high blood sugar. You are what you eat, so diabetics must eat foods that are low in sugar to keep from having high blood sugar. Glucose monitors allow you to check your blood sugar at anytime. They are small handheld devices that can be carried in a pocket book or pocket, allowing a supreme amount of versatility. Exercise also contributes to controlling high blood sugar, so talk to your doctor about a possible exercise routine. So see how you can get a normal range for blood sugar and talk to your doctor about lifestyle changes.

What are normal blood sugar readings?

What are normal blood sugar readings? For diabetics this is some of the best information to know. Since they cannot control their blood sugar level by themselves they must know what normal blood sugar readings are. Diabetes is a disease that is slowly taking over the world. Due to today’s high sugar foods more and more people are coming down with it. Diabetes is where the body’s organ called the pancreas manufactures too little of a chemical called insulin. Insulin is a chemical that the body uses to change the sugar (glucose) in the blood stream into fuel that are cells are able to use. When the insulin levels are not where they are needed to be the sugar levels begin to rise. When they reach a certain level they begin to damage the body severely the damage that is often done consists of heart, eye, nerve, and kidney damage. This is why it is a good reason to keep normal blood sugar readings.

Normal blood sugar readings are usually between 60 mg/dl and 120 mg/dl. (Depending on the last time food was eaten and the size of the meal) When levels are above120 mg/dl they are considered high and when they reach over 140 they begin to damage the body. This means that diabetics must do several things to keep normal blood sugar readings. Diets are a key aspect. The proper diet gives a great amount of control to the diabetic. A diabetic diet should consist of non sugary foods and foods that are high in dietary fiber. Also using a blood glucose meter helps with controlling your blood sugar level. Both of these should be discussed with your doctor as he can give some of the best information. So see about keeping normal blood sugar readings.

Foods with Glucose

In our present age when it seems that every aisle is covered with brightly colored wrappers and packages that be your attention and call out to you purporting to be the perfect food is is no wonder that foods with glucose are so prevalent. Glucose is a simple sugar that is needed as fuel by every cell in the body and if all goes well with the way the body handles glucose intake and metabolisis glucose can be a good thing. However in persons with diabetes glucose intake must be severely limited in order to maintain a healthy blood sugar.

Glucose, as a simple sugar is one of the chief building blocks of carbohydrates and therefore it is easy to know that foods that are high in carbohydrates are also foods that contain glucose as the body simply breaks the carbs down into glucose once it is ingested. This means that dairy products, potatoes, breads, pastas, potatoes and rice are some of the foods that contain the most glucose and can quickly elevate glucose levels in the body. Fruits are perhaps the best source of glucose as they generally contain the simplest of sugars and are excellent sources of glucose. Meats and fish as a general rule are not foods that contain glucose, as they are primarily sources of protein, though many cured, smoked, canned, and processed meat products have some form of sugar added and this makes them…you guessed it…foods that contain glucose.

Though glucose is absolutely essential for fuel to keep the body going, it must be remembered that too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. In a normal person, excess glucose is converted into fat and stored for use later, this results in weight gain. In cases of diabetes and other metabolic problems which effect insulin production or use glucose levels can rise to the point where this simple sugar can begin to damage organs and body systems and result in coma, or even death. Foods that contain glucose are an absolute essential for life, but their intake should be done with sense and moderation.

Meal Planning for Diabetics

These days fitness is all the rage, and all kinds of diets have become commonplace as people seek to lose extra pounds in order to look good on the beach or in the gym, but meal planning for diabetics can be a matter of true healthcare rather than just an effort to look their best. While for most people the issue of diet can often be solved by simply limiting their dietary intake of calories, those who suffer from diabetes must be extremely careful where those calories come from, as their condition prohibits their body from metabolizing the sugars that the take in from their foods.

While many people think of food sugars as being derived from sugarcane, corn, or maple syrup or some other type of sweetening agent, the truth is that food sugars are also derived from sources starches and fats which the body metabolizes into glucose, which is the same kind of sugar the body makes form cane sugar.

Glucose is needed by the body because it is the source of fuel for the cells, but glucose can only be used by the cells in the presence of a hormone called insulin. In diabetes, the pancreas either does not produce sufficient insulin, or the cells of the body are resistant to the insulin which is produced, and this can allow glucose levels to rise dangerously in the bloodstream. Therefore meal planning for diabetics must take this into account and limit not only the amount of sweets but also the amount of starchy foods like potatoes, rice, and breads. As a general rule, white foods are bad foods due to the level of starches in them.

The best place to get advice on meal planning for diabetics is from your personal physician. If you are a diabetic, your personal physician will be familiar with your typs of diabetes as well as your overall health and is the person best qualified to offer food advice.

Diabetes Testing Equipment

Diabetic testing equipment usually consists of a device usually referred to as a glucometer. Diabetic testing equipment is designed to read the level of glucose, or sugar, in a drop of blood so that the blood sugar level can be tracked.

The use of diabetic testing equipment is pretty simple and straight forward. To use the machine a special test strip is placed in the machine, then a drop of blood is collected by pricking the skin (usually on the finger) with a lancet, the drop of blood is placed on the test strip and the machine “reads” the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Though there is a huge variety of different makes and models of diabetic testing equipment on the market, they all work in virtually the same way, some may require a little smaller drop of blood and some may “read” the sugar level quicker than the others, but the basic principal remains the same.

Diabetes testing equipment has become quite common since one of the chief concerns in the proper management of diabetes is to keep blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible. With the use of the glucometer the diabetic patient can check their blood sugar quickly, and almost painlessly in the convenience of their own home. The ease of use of the diabetes testing equipment makes it possible for the blood sugar to be tested many times per day so that the blood sugar levels can be manipulated via dietary changes or medication administration.

The key to the proper treatment of diabetes lies in the ability to keep blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible. While insulin and other medications and dietary changes can be used to manipulate blood sugar levels, without the humble diabetes testing equipment this would be an impossible task.