Diabetes rates are on the rise, and the question of what is the normal blood sugar level is becoming increasingly more important to an ever growing number of people in today’s world. Death and disability rates from a number of diseases, even such dreaded diseases as heart disease, stroke, and cancer, are falling, but diabetes rates are steadily climbing and diabetes is rapidly becoming one of the most wide spread health care problems of our time.

While there is, as yet, no cure for diabetes the key to heading off the worst effects of the disease is by knowing what is the normal blood sugar level much as possible. Diabetes works by interfering with the way the body normally processes sugar into glucose which then reacts with insulin in order to provide energy to the cells.

Prolonged periods of low blood glucose values of high blood glucose values can lead to kidney damage, neuropathy, glaucoma, blindness, heart disease, coma and even death. Diabetes doesn’t do damage to the body as other disease processes do, it interferes with the body’s ability to maintain normal blood glucose values and causes this damage to be widespread. So keeping track of what is the normal blood sugar level is more important than ever.

One of the chief problems with maintaining and knowing what is the normal blood sugar level is that there is such a wide variety of what may be considered “normal.” Blood glucose levels fluctuate throughout the day in even a healthy person, and what is considered normal for one person may well be outside the acceptable range for another. Blood glucose levels can be affected by age, medications taken, overall health, weight, and diet this makes it imperative that if you or someone you know thinks they may have a blood glucose problem that a visit to the doctor is made as only a physician can properly determine what a “normal” blood glucose may be for an individual.

If diabetes runs in your family, or if you suspect that you may have it, don’t wait, go see your doctor so you can get started maintaining the answer to what is the normal blood sugar level.