Understanding The Science Behind Blood Sugar For Healthy Living

Blood sugar is the amount of dietary sugar that the body preserves in the blood in order to supply energy to each and every living cell in the body. It’s the simplest form of sugar (glucose) that the blood stores and pumps. When the level of glucose spikes – abnormally high or abnormally low – that it’s a matter of concern. Thus, there are a lot of precautions that you need to undertake in order to keep blood sugar in a healthy range. But, the main questions are, what exactly is the healthy blood sugar range and does it actually fluctuate? All such details are to come in the guide below.

Science Behind Blood Sugar Formation And Maintenance

The normal blood sugar range depends upon a number of things like the ones mentioned below.

Healthy individuals or diabetic patients
Pre-breakfast levels and post-breakfast levels
Type of diabetes (Type 1 or Type 2)

Considering all these factors, the NICE guidelines for sugar levels suggest the following ranges as normal, low, and high.

For Healthy Individuals:

4.0 – 5.4 mmol/L (72 to 99 mg/dL) before a meal.
Up to 7.8 mmol/L (140 mg/dL) 2 hours after a meal.

Precisely, the level should come down to the normal range (below 99 mg/dL) within 2 hours after eating.

For Type 1 Diabetic Patients

Type 1 Diabetes is a health condition where the pancreas lose their ability to produce insulin (the hormone that’s required to allow sugar to penetrate within the body cells).

This condition is also known as insulin-dependent diabetes. Since the glucose fails to enter within the cells in this condition, it increases the sugar level high.

The recommended sugar level for Type 1 diabetic patients is given below.

5.0 -7.0 mmol/L soon after waking up in the morning.
4.0 – 7.0 mmol/L before the first meal of the day.
Up to 5.0 – 9.0 mmol/L 2 hours after the meal.

Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Type 2 diabetes is basically a condition where the body fails to manage the blood sugar level (mismanagement of sugar metabolism).

The recommended sugar level for Type 2 diabetic patients is given below.

4.0 – 7.0 mmol/L before breakfast
Below 8.5 mmol/L 2 hours after a meal

Having said that, it’s necessary to take proper precautions in order to control diabetes and keep blood sugar in a healthy range.

What To Consider When Suffering From Diabetes?

The first thing to consider is consulting a doctor to determine if you have diabetes in case you’re showing the following symptoms of diabetes.

Frequent urination
Lethargy
Excessive hunger and thirst
Dry mouth
Skin itching
Blurry vision

Whilst these are a few diabetes symptoms that type 1 and type 2 patients share, some exclusive symptoms are listed below.

Symptoms Indicating Type 1 Diabetes

Sudden weight loss
Nausea
Vomiting

Symptoms Indicating Type 2 Diabetes

Frequent yeast infection
Numbness sensation in feet
Pain sensation in feet

How To Deal With Diabetes?

The best ways to naturally control diabetes are;
Diet management – Consume fewer calories from healthy sources only.
Fat management – Avoid trans-fat and not good fat.
Weight Management – Workout to keep away from obesity

Other ways include;
Visit your doctor timely
Religiously consume the medicines
Stay away from artificial sweeteners