Normal blood sugar level. Happiness is hearing those words from a doctor’s mouth. Getting older (plus 45), ok (plus 50) means that a person worries about more things that used to seem a long ways off. Blood sugar levels and how they correlate to that ever expanding waistline. What is a normal blood sugar level? A healthy blood sugar level? Your head spins just wondering about those questions and how they affect you, so I did some research to find out what a healthy, normal blood sugar level was and how I needed to change to keep it there. (Well really it was to see how little I could change) Oh, yeah, that big D word, diabetes. Let’s keep it at bay if at all possible. Now I’m not a Doctor, but in general terms here’s what I found out about a normal blood sugar level:
- Pre-breakfast (fasting): 80-100 preferably anything less than 100.
- Before a meal: Less than 110
- Two hours after a meal: Less than 140
- Bedtime: Less than 120
But what do those numbers mean and what are they measuring? They are measuring the amount of glucose in the blood in milligrams per deciliter or mg/dL. This number means the concentration of a substance (glucose) in a specific amount of fluid (blood). It also a measure of how well your body uses insulin to regulate the amount of glucose in the blood. You probably have noticed how eating a sugary meal for breakfast will keep you going for a much shorter time than a more substantial meal will. What happens is your blood sugar level rises and then your body produces insulin to keep things in balance, and then the blood sugar level falls, you get hungry for more sugar and it happens all over again. So my numbers were within normal blood sugar levels, but they were kind of toward the high side. Further testing was available to see if there was a problem or the start of a problem that needed correcting, but blood draws aren’t my cup of tea. The typical fasting plasma glucose test I just did was enough for me. The next level is an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). You have a blood draw, drink some sweet liquid, hang out and have a few more blood draws to see how quickly your body deals with the glucose in your blood. I wanted to avoid that and keep my blood sugar level as close to normal as possible so I decided to take some steps to do that.