Blood Sugar Levels

Diabetes is a disease characterized by abnormal metabolism of blood sugar and defective insulin production. Blood sugar levels are an important parameter for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of diabetes. Blood sugar level is the level of sugar circulating in blood at a given time. Blood glucose levels vary at different time on various part of the day. Some factors that affect blood sugar levels are body composition, age, physical activity and sex. Males and females may also have differing blood sugar level.

Normal guidelines for blood sugar:

Blood Sugar Range : Level of Blood sugar on waking up with an empty stomach should be normally between 80 to 120 mg/dl. Thereafter normal blood sugar should be between 120 to 160 mg/dl two hours after having food and during bedtime the blood sugar values should be between 100 to 140 mg/dl. Any variations from the above mentioned value range of blood sugar is suggestive of diabetes, if the value of an individual’s blood sugar tends to be more than the upper limit. Repeated blood sugar test is necessary to confirm diabetes.

Conditions wherein blood sugar level will be higher other than diabetes:

There are certain conditions where blood sugar level of an individual will differ from the normal range and repeated medical tests are necessary to confirm it as diabetes. The various conditions are pregnancy and lactation, fasting, after severe binge eating, fever, severe injuries, after severe physical exertion, severe dehydration, for patients undergoing certain medical therapeutic procedures, etc. In such cases blood sugar level changes are normal and not linked to regular diabetes.

Measures to control Blood sugar level:

Diabetes can be controlled to a great extent by controlling blood sugar levels. For controlling blood sugar levels it is mandatory for an individual to undergo periodic monitoring of blood sugar levels under the guidelines of the physician. There are many methods to control blood sugar levels. They are-

• Have proper balanced diet
• Maintain an active lifestyle
• Do regular exercises
• Avoid smoking and intake of alcohol
• Take proper medications
• Do skipping meals or eat unhealthy food.

A properly controlled blood sugar level will keep the diabetes in check.

Adverse effects of blood sugar levels on diabetes patients:

While in most of the cases, blood sugar levels will be high in case of diabetes patients, its level can have adverse effect on the patient depending upon its severity and complications. A severely high level of blood sugar may result in various symptoms like breathlessness. It may also lead to complications involving the circulatory system and the blood vessels. A severely low blood sugar level may lead to unconsciousness. So blood sugar level should be kept in proper control for control of diabetes. It is necessary to monitor blood sugar levels at regular intervals.