A High Sugar Level After A Meal
It's normal for your blood sugar level to rise after you eat, especially if you eat a meal high in refined carbohydrates. But if your blood sugar rises more than most people's, you might have diabetes or pre-diabetes, a condition that indicates a strong risk for developing diabetes in the future. If you already have diabetes, you doctor will recommend keeping your blood sugar within a prescribed range. A glucose tolerance test, done one to three hours after you eat a high-carbohydrate meal, can check your blood sugar levels. Why Does Your Blood Sugar Rise? When you eat carbohydrates, your body breaks down the sugars they contain into glucose. Your body can't absorb most sugars without breaking them down first. Simple sugars such as refined sugar break down very quickly; you absorb them rapidly into your bloodstream, which raises your blood sugar. In healthy people, the levels don't rise very high and they drop back to normal quickly. If you have diabetes, your levels after a meal will rise higher and stay high longer than levels in other people. This occurs because your pancreas either don't release enough insulin, the hormone that helps cells absorb glucose, or because the cells don't respond properly to insulin release. Normal Levels If your doctor suspects that you have abnormal glucose levels, he might suggest doing a glucose tolerance test. You are given around 75 grams of carbohydrate after fasting for 12 hours. At one- to three-hour intervals, your doctor draws blood and analyzes your glucose levels. A normal fasting glucose is 60 to 100 milligrams per deciliter; your levels should rise no higher than 200 mg/dl one hour after eating and no more than 140 mg/dl two hours after finishing the snack. Most healthy people without diabetes have two-hour readings below 12 Continue reading >>
What Are Blood Sugar Target Ranges? What Is Normal Blood Sugar Level?
Understanding blood sugar target ranges to better manage your diabetes As a person with diabetes, you may or may not know what your target ranges should be for your blood sugars first thing in the morning, before meals, after meals, or at bedtime. You may or may not understand what blood sugar ranges are for people without diabetes. You may or may not understand how your A1C correlates with your target ranges. How do you get a clear picture of what is going on with your blood sugar, and how it could be affecting your health? In this article, we will look at what recommended blood sugar target ranges are for people without diabetes. We will look at target ranges for different times of the day for people with diabetes. We will look at target ranges for Type 1 versus Type 2 diabetes. Is there a difference? We will also look at what blood sugars should be during pregnancy for those with gestational diabetes. We will look at other factors when determining blood sugar targets, such as: Age Other health conditions How long you’ve had diabetes for Stress Illness Lifestyle habits and activity levels We will see how these factors impact target ranges for your blood sugars when you have diabetes. We will learn that target ranges can be individualized based on the factors above. We will learn how target ranges help to predict the A1C levels. We will see how if you are in your target range, you can be pretty sure that your A1C will also be in target. We will see how you can document your blood sugar patterns in a notebook or in an “app,” and manage your blood sugars to get them in your target ranges. First, let’s look at the units by which blood sugars are measured… How is blood sugar measured? In the United States, blood sugar is measured in milligrams per deciliter (by w Continue reading >>
What Are The Ideal Levels Of Blood Sugar?
A blood sugar or blood glucose chart identifies ideal blood sugar levels throughout the day, including before and after meals. Doctors use blood sugar charts to set target goals and monitor diabetes treatment plans. Blood sugar charts also help those with diabetes assess and self-monitor blood sugar test results. What is a blood sugar chart? Blood sugar charts act as a reference guide for blood sugar test results. As such, blood sugar charts are important tools for diabetes management. Most diabetes treatment plans involve keeping blood sugar levels as close to normal or target goals as possible. This requires frequent at-home and doctor-ordered testing, along with an understanding of how results compare to target levels. To help interpret and assess blood sugar results, the charts outline normal and abnormal blood sugar levels for those with and without diabetes. In the United States, blood sugar charts typically report sugar levels in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). In the United Kingdom and many other countries, blood sugar is reported in millimoles per liter (mmol/L). A1C blood sugar recommendations are frequently included in blood sugar charts. A1C results are often described as both a percentage and an average blood sugar level in mg/dL. An A1C test measures the average sugar levels over a 3-month period, which gives a wider insight into a person's overall management of their blood sugar levels. Blood sugar chart guidelines Appropriate blood sugar levels vary throughout the day and from person to person. Blood sugars are often lowest before breakfast and in the lead up to meals. Blood sugars are often highest in the hours following meals. People with diabetes will often have higher blood sugar targets or acceptable ranges than those without the condition. These Continue reading >>
Blunting Post-meal Glucose Surges In People With Diabetes
Go to: TO THE EDITOR Non-communicable chronic diseases are costly[1]. The public at large foots a sizable chunk of the economic cost while patients are faced with the double whammy of compromised general health and sizable monitory costs. This note highlights a surprisingly low-cost way to address this problem worldwide. Moderating post-meal glucose surges is a critical part of diabetes management because these surges are directly linked to the microvascular complications that in turn lead to organ damage and increased morbidity and mortality[2]. There are three well recognized approaches to managing post-meal glucose peaks: Diet, exercise and medications. Poverty, however, stands in the way of using food and medications properly to fight post-meal glucose surges. Physical activity is free for all. People with insulin resistance have difficulty processing carbohydrates. The general recommendation for getting around this problem has been to rely on “appropriate” carbohydrate intake. American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends individualized meal plans with the right carb count that would offer a postprandial glucose (ppg) value under 180 mg/dL (9.99 mmol/L)[3] with an expected HbA1c of 7.0%. American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) is even more cautious: AACE recommends a ppg under 140 mg/dL (7.77 mmol/L) and an expected HbA1c of 6.5%[4]. Since glucose levels peak around 1 h after the start of meals[5] patients who have glucometers should be able to adjust the carb content of meals with the help of the 1-h glucose value following the major meal of the day. Balancing meals with protein, vegetables, fiber and healthy fat decreases the glycemic load of the meal and offers lower glucose peaks[6,7]. Studies featuring moderate exercise after meals consis Continue reading >>
Why Checking Postprandial Glucose Is Important
Checking your blood sugar (glucose) levels at home is part of your type 2 diabetes management plan. You can use the results of these tests to help improve your blood sugar control. But if you’re only testing first thing in the morning, you might be missing the full picture. “I like to tell my patients that the first morning glucose level check is usually the lowest of the day, and checking only in the morning is akin to purposefully ‘blindfolding’ yourself to only see the best-case scenario,” says endocrinologist Ildiko Lingvay, MD, MPH, an associate professor in the department of internal medicine/endocrinology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “If you want to see a more complete picture, I recommend patients mix it up and check their glucose level at various times during the day — and, most importantly, when they know they might have not followed the best advice — to see the full effect of their choices.” The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends checking blood sugar levels before eating (fasting blood sugar) and then again one to two hours after the beginning of a meal — particularly if target A1C goals aren’t being met. The test after the meal is called the postprandial glucose (PPG) test. You might also need to test your blood sugar at other times during the day, or after certain activities, depending on the information you and your medical team are trying to gather about your type 2 diabetes. PPG 101 The term “postprandial glucose” might sound like jargon, but it literally means “sugar after the meal.” “Glucose levels begin to rise about 10 minutes after the start of a meal and peak two hours after a meal… and they return to pre-meal levels within two to three hours,” explains endocrinolo Continue reading >>
- Postprandial Blood Glucose Is a Stronger Predictor of Cardiovascular Events Than Fasting Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Particularly in Women: Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes Study
- Why Isn't Postprandial Insulin Assay Being Used to Predict Diabetes Onset?
- Advice to walk after meals is more effective for lowering postprandial glycaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus than advice that does not specify timing: a randomised crossover study
* What Is A Normal Blood Sugar?
Normal blood sugars after a high carbohydrate breakfast eaten at 7:30 AM. The blue line is the average for the group. The brown lines show the range within which most readings fell (2 standard deviations). Bottom lines show Insulin and C-peptide levels at the same time. Click HERE if you don't see the graph. Graph is a screen shot from Dr. Christiansen's presentation cited below. The term "blood sugar" refers to the concentration of glucose, a simple, sugar, that is found in a set volume of blood. In the U.S. it is measured in milligrams per deciliter, abbreviated as mg/dl. In most of the rest of the world it is measured in millimoles per liter, abbreviated as mmol/L. The concentration of glucose in our blood changes continually throughout the day. It can even vary significantly from minute to minute. When you eat, it can rise dramatically. When you exercise it will often drop. The blood sugar measures that doctors are most interested in is the A1c, discussed below. When you are given a routine blood test doctors usually order a fasting glucose test. The most informative blood sugar reading is the post-meal blood sugar measured one and two hours after eating. Doctors rarely test this important blood sugar measurement as it is time consuming and hence expensive. Rarely doctors will order a Oral Glucose Tolerance Test, which tests your response to a huge dose of pure glucose, which hits your blood stream within minutes and produces results quite different from the blood sugars you will experience after each meal. Below you will find the normal readings for these various tests. Normal Fasting Blood Sugar Fasting blood sugar is usually measured first thing in the morning before you have eaten any food. A truly normal fasting blood sugar (which is also the blood sugar a norm Continue reading >>
What Is A Normal Blood Sugar Level?
The aim of diabetes treatment is to bring blood sugar (“glucose”) as close to normal as possible. What is a normal blood sugar level? And how can you achieve normal blood sugar? First, what is the difference between “sugar” and “glucose”? Sugar is the general name for sweet carbohydrates that dissolve in water. “Carbohydrate” means a food made only of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. There are various different kinds of sugars. The one our body uses most is called “glucose.” Other sugars we eat, like fructose from fruit or lactose from milk, are converted into glucose in our bodies. Then we can use them for energy. Our bodies also break down starches, which are sugars stuck together, into glucose. When people talk about “blood sugar,” they mean “blood glucose.” The two terms mean the same thing. In the U.S., blood sugar is normally measured in milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood (mg/dl). A milligram is very little, about 0.00018 of a teaspoon. A deciliter is about 3 1/3 ounces. In Canada and the United Kingdom, blood sugar is reported in millimoles/liter (mmol/L). You can convert Canadian or British glucose levels to American numbers if you multiply them by 18. This is useful to know if you’re reading comments or studies from England or Canada. If someone reports that their fasting blood glucose was 7, you can multiply that by 18 and get their U.S. glucose level of 126 mg/dl. What are normal glucose numbers? They vary throughout the day. (Click here for a blood sugar chart.) For someone without diabetes, a fasting blood sugar on awakening should be under 100 mg/dl. Before-meal normal sugars are 70–99 mg/dl. “Postprandial” sugars taken two hours after meals should be less than 140 mg/dl. Those are the normal numbers for someone w Continue reading >>
Is My Blood Sugar Normal?
“Is my blood sugar normal?” seems like a simple question – but it’s not! The answer can vary dramatically based on your situation. Let’s look at some of the factors to consider. Please remember: you should figure out your personal goals in consultation with your doctor. Normal Blood Sugar in Diabetic vs. Non-Diabetic First, a quick note on how we measure blood sugar. In the USA, blood sugars are measured by weight in milligrams per deciliter, abbreviated as mg/dL. Most everyone else uses millimole per liter, abbreviated mmol. If you are in the USA, look at the big numbers, most everyone else look at the small numbers. In a person without diabetes, blood sugars tend to stay between 70 and 100 mg/dL (3.8 and 5.5 mmol). After a meal, blood sugars can rise up to 120 mg/dL or 6.7 mmol. It will typically fall back into the normal range within two hours. In a person with diabetes, the story is much more complex: Below 70 mg/dL Below 3.8 mmol Low Blood Sugars (Hypoglycemia). When blood sugars drop below this level, you may start feeling hunger, shakiness, or racing of the heart. Your body is starved for sugar (glucose). Read how to detect and treat low blood sugars. 70 mg/dL to 140 mg/dL 3.8 mmol to 7.7 mmol Normal Blood Sugar. In this range, the body is functioning normally. In someone without diabetes, the vast majority of the time is spent in the lower half of this range. 140 mg/dL to 180 mg/dL 7.7 mmol to 10 mmol Elevated Blood Sugars. In this range, the body can function relatively normally. However, extended periods of time in this zone put you at risk for long-term complications. Above 180 mg/dL Abovoe 10 mmol High Blood Sugars. At this range, the kidney is unable to reabsorb all of the glucose in your blood and you begin to spill glucose in your urine. Your bo Continue reading >>
Normal Range For Blood Sugar After Eating A Meal
When you have diabetes your blood sugar levels can be quite fragile. What are normal blood sugar levels? Blood sugar levels depend on what, when and how much you eat, as well as how effectively your body produces and uses insulin. Your blood sugar levels are an excellent indicator of your risk of developing diabetes; the higher your blood sugar, the greater your risk. Chronic high blood sugar can be a wake-up call, telling you that it’s time to lose weight and make healthier food choices. Normal Blood Glucose / Blood Sugar Level Ranges before Eating Target blood sugar levels depend on the time of day and if you already have diabetes or pre-diabetes. Before you eat, called a fasting or pre-prandial glucose level, a non-diabetic should have a glucose level between 3.88 and 5.3 mmol/L.. If your reading is higher than 5.33 mmol/L. but lower than 6.94mmol/L, you may have insulin resistance or pre-diabetes. Glucose readings above 7 mmol/L indicate you have diabetes. Ideally, if you have type 2 diabetes you should have a fasting glucose level between 3.88 mmol/L and 7.22 mmol/L, when your diabetes is under control due to a combination of diet, exercise and medication if needed. Normal Blood Sugar Ranges after Eating Your blood sugar or blood glucose levels starts to rise soon after you start to eat and is at its highest 1 to 2 hours after your meal. Normal postprandial, which means “after eating,” glucose levels are 6.67 mmol/L and below for non-diabetics, 8.83 mmol/L. and below for those with pre-diabetes and 10 mmol/L for diabetics. The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease suggest that two hours after eating, diabetics should have a blood sugar reading of 10 mmol/L or less. If your blood sugar is higher than 18 mmol/L two hours after eating, Continue reading >>
Strike The Spike Ii
Dealing With High Blood Sugar After Meals Eleven years ago, I wrote an article for Diabetes Self-Management about the management of high blood sugar after meals. It was called “Strike the Spike” and no article I’ve ever written has led to greater reader response. To this day, I still receive calls, letters, and e-mails thanking me for offering practical answers to this perplexing challenge. I’ve even been asked to speak on the topic at some major conferences. So when presented with the opportunity to readdress the issue, I jumped at the chance. A lot has changed in the past eleven years: we know more than ever about the harmful effects of after-meal blood sugar spikes, but we also have a number of potent new tools and techniques for preventing them. Now that I know how important this topic is to so many people, I’ll do my absolute best to bring you up to date. What’s a spike? After-meal, or “postprandial,” spikes are temporary high blood glucose levels that occur soon after eating. It is normal for the level of glucose in the blood to rise a small amount after eating, even in people who do not have diabetes. However, if the rise is too high, it can affect your quality of life today and contribute to serious health problems down the road. The reason blood glucose tends to spike after eating in many people with diabetes is a simple matter of timing. In a person who doesn’t have diabetes, eating foods containing carbohydrate causes two important reactions in the pancreas: the immediate release of insulin into the bloodstream, and the release of a hormone called amylin. The insulin starts working almost immediately (to move glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells) and finishes its job in a matter of minutes. The amylin keeps food from reaching the sm Continue reading >>
How To Manage Blood Sugar Spikes After Meals
If you're trying to manage diabetes, you already know it's important to keep track of your blood sugar levels. But how do you handle a spike that comes after you eat? It's called "postprandial" blood glucose, and if you take some simple steps, you can get it under control and help avoid health problems. When your blood sugar is high, you can get symptoms like a foggy-headed feeling that makes it hard to focus or think clearly. Your energy may also take a dive, and you may feel nervous or moody. If your levels go too low, you could even pass out. In the long run, if your blood sugar stays up, you could be at risk for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, or other problems. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends you check your blood sugar levels right before mealtime with a blood sample from a finger stick. Then do it again 1 to 2 hours after that first bite of food. Keep this up for a week or so. Write down the time and the blood sugar number. Make a note about anything you think might affect your levels, like medicine or exercise. And don't forget to log exactly what you ate, along with portion sizes and the amount of carbs. What levels are too high after a meal? Experts vary on what the number should be, but the ADA says a general goal is a blood sugar level under 180 mg/dL, 1 to 2 hours after a meal. Talk to your doctor about what you should aim for, and don't adjust your medicine without speaking to him first. Get medicine that works for you. The right insulin or medication program can make a big difference. In general, to cover after-meal spikes, those that kick in quickly and for a short time are a better choice than ones that work slowly over a long period. Your doctor can explain your options. Keep blood sugar in check before meals. That way, even if Continue reading >>
Postprandial Blood Glucose
Individuals with diabetes are at increased risk of developing microvascular complications (retinopathy, nephropathy, and neuropathy) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) (1) and U.K. Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) (2) showed that treatment programs resulting in improved glycemic control, as measured by HbA1c, reduced the microvascular complications of diabetes. The effect of these treatment programs on reducing CVD was less clear. However, some epidemiological studies suggest that there may be a relationship between glycemic levels and CVD. In the management of diabetes, health care providers usually assess glycemic control with fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and premeal glucose measurements, as well as by measuring HbA1c. Therapeutic goals for HbA1c and preprandial glucose levels have been established based on the results of controlled clinical trials. Unfortunately, the majority of patients with diabetes fail to achieve their glycemic goals. Elevated postprandial glucose (PPG) concentrations may contribute to suboptimal glycemic control. Postprandial hyperglycemia is also one of the earliest abnormalities of glucose homeostasis associated with type 2 diabetes and is markedly exaggerated in diabetic patients with fasting hyperglycemia. Several therapies targeted toward lowering PPG excursions are now available and have been shown to improve glycemic control as measured by HbA1c. However, many questions remain unanswered regarding the definition of PPG and, perhaps most importantly, whether postprandial hyperglycemia has a unique role in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications and should be a specific target of therapy. To address these issues and to provide guidance to health care providers, the American Diabetes As Continue reading >>
- Postprandial Blood Glucose Is a Stronger Predictor of Cardiovascular Events Than Fasting Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Particularly in Women: Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes Study
- Advice to walk after meals is more effective for lowering postprandial glycaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus than advice that does not specify timing: a randomised crossover study
- The Effect of Walking on Postprandial Glycemic Excursion in Patients With Type 1 Diabetes and Healthy People
7 Techniques To Reduce Post-meal Spikes During Pregnancy
“Gary, I think I need more insulin at breakfast.” “Why do you say that, Julianne?” “Because I’m always having high readings right afterwards, and my obstetrician said I shouldn’t spike after I eat.” “And what happens after the spike?” “It usually comes down to normal before lunch. So do you think I should take more insulin?” After-meal blood sugar spikes can create quite a quandary for anyone with diabetes, particularly during pregnancy. Research has shown that fetal macrosomia (overgrowth of the baby) becomes more common when post-meal blood sugars exceed 120 mg/dl (6.7 mmol). With post-meal readings above 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol), the risk more than doubles from baseline. Fetal macrosomia can cause many problems during pregnancy. When the baby grows and develops too rapidly, it can lead to a premature and more complicated birth. It may also cause injuries to occur to the baby during delivery. Why do after-meal blood sugars have such a major influence on the baby’s growth? Nobody knows for certain. Perhaps, when the mother’s blood sugar “spikes” suddenly after meals, the baby is fed more sugar than its pancreas can “cover” with insulin, and high fetal blood sugar results. And because the baby’s kidneys spill almost all excess sugar from the baby’s bloodstream back into the amniotic fluid, the baby then drinks in the extra glucose and winds up growing more than it should. Suffice to say that post-meal blood sugar spikes are something to avoid during pregnancy. But how do we do it? Getting back to Julianne’s question, if she takes more insulin, she’ll probably wind up hypoglycemic before lunch. Luckily, we have some excellent techniques for preventing the after-meal highs without having to take more mealtime insulin. What Causes Sp Continue reading >>
Blood Tests For Diabetes: Two-hour Postprandial Glucose Test
By the dLife Editors Also known as: the postprandial plasma glucose test; PPG. What is it? A blood test that measures the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates and produce insulin. Postprandial means after-meal, and this test is administered two hours following a meal. Why is this test performed? The test is used to evaluate the efficacy of medication or dietary therapy in those already diagnosed with diabetes. How is this test performed? The test is performed using a glucose meter to test your blood sugar two hours after the start of a meal. Wash your hands to remove anything on them that could affect your test results. Insert a test strip into your meter, and use the lancing device to get a drop of blood from the side of your fingertip. Hold the edge of the test strip to the drop of blood, and your blood sugar level will appear on the meter. How frequently should this test be performed? As required when monitoring a treatment regimen. What is the “normal” range for results? In people without diabetes, the normal postprandial glucose range is less than 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l). For people with diabetes, the American Diabetes Association recommends a postprandial glucose target of less than 180 mg/dl (10.0 mmol/l). The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommends a slightly stricter target of less than 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/l). What do abnormal results mean? A number of factors can affect your postprandial glucose level, including what and how much you eat, how active you are, your insulin sensitivity, and your medication. Blood sugar levels that are consistently too high or low may mean that it’s time to adjust your diabetes treatment or management plan. Work with your doctor or certified diabetes educator to make the necessary changes to get y Continue reading >>
- Postprandial Blood Glucose Is a Stronger Predictor of Cardiovascular Events Than Fasting Blood Glucose in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Particularly in Women: Lessons from the San Luigi Gonzaga Diabetes Study
- Home blood glucose test: How to test for diabetes at home
- Advice to walk after meals is more effective for lowering postprandial glycaemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus than advice that does not specify timing: a randomised crossover study
Blood Sugar Levels For Adults With Diabetes
Each time you test your blood sugar, log it in a notebook or online tool or with an app. Note the date, time, results, and any recent activities: What medication and dosage you took What you ate How much and what kind of exercise you were doing That will help you and your doctor see how your treatment is working. Well-managed diabetes can delay or prevent complications that affect your eyes, kidneys, and nerves. Diabetes doubles your risk for heart disease and stroke, too. Fortunately, controlling your blood sugar will also make these problems less likely. Tight blood sugar control, however, means a greater chance of low blood sugar levels, so your doctor may suggest higher targets. Continue reading >>
