Fasting Blood Sugar – Understanding Its Importance
The information provided on this site, such as text, graphics, images, is for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as medical care or medical advice and is not a replacement for medical care given by physicians or trained medical personnel.
A blood sugar degree or blood glucose level measures how well a person’s body is processing the sugar that is taken in through the diet. Check outcomes can be obtained by a simple finger stick with a glucometer or with a traditional laboratory venipuncture. There are various tests that can determine blood sugar levels at various stages, for example a fasting, random, 2-hour glucose tolerance check, and glycated hemoglobin check. All of these tests measure blood sugar levels having a simple procedure, but the outcomes can differentiate between normal, pre-diabetes, and type 1 or type 2 diabetes. There may also be other signs and symptoms present that are indicative of a blood sugar degree being as well low or as well high.
Most of the time a blood sugar level is drawn randomly, unless the primary care provider has specifically requested a patient to fast before having the test done. A random test does not take into consideration the last time a person ate a meal or a snack.
According to the Mayo Clinic, a normal random reading should be less than 100 mg/dL; pre-diabetes is suggested if the level is greater than 100 mg/dL but less than 199 mg/dL. A level above 200 mg/dL or higher is indicative of either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. A fasting blood sugar level is drawn after an eight hour period with no food or beverages with sugar or calories. This test is usually drawn first thing in the morning, and is considered normal if the level is below 70 mg/dL. If diabetes is suspected after preliminary tests, then a 2-hour glucose tolerance test is ordered.
Fasting is also required for this test to get accurate results. Patients first drink a sugary liquid and then have their blood drawn two hours later. A normal reading is less than 140 mg/dL, pre-diabetes is suggested if level is between 140-199 mg/dL, and type 1 or type 2 if level is 200 mg/dL or higher. The glycated hemoglobin or hemoglobin A1C test is used not to diagnose diabetes, but to manage ongoing treatment. It measures the average blood sugar level for the previous three month period, and indicates how well diabetes has been managed during that time.
It is recommended that everybody have their blood sugar level checked from time to time to make sure that glucose is within the normal range. Low and high blood sugar levels are generally accompanied by symptoms that are related to how low or high glucose is within the bloodstream.
Once diabetes is diagnosed, patients are instructed to check their blood sugar levels frequently for proper management of their disease, cut out refined sugar from the diet, get adequate exercise on a normal basis, and follow their prescribed plan of care for the greatest results.
Get more information on http://www.fastingbloodsugar.org/ and its indications.
Thank you for reading this article.
You might be interested in articles on normal blood sugar as well.
Mechanisms that restore satisfactory blood glucose levels after hypoglycemia must be quick and effective to prevent extremely serious consequences of insufficient glucose: confusion or unsteadiness, and, in the extreme, coma. It is far more dangerous to have too little glucose in the blood than too much, at least temporarily. In healthy individuals, blood glucose-regulating mechanisms are generally quite effective, and symptomatic hypoglycemia is generally only found in diabetics using insulin or other pharmacological treatment. Hypoglycemic episodes can vary greatly between persons and from time to time, both in severity and swiftness of onset. For severe cases, prompt medical assistance is essential, as damage to brain and other tissues and even death will result from sufficiently low blood glucose levels.