So what should your fasting blood sugar be? The normal blood sugar range is 65-99 mg/dL. If your fasting blood sugar is between 100 and 125 mg/dL, you have “impaired fasting glucose,” also referred to as “prediabetes.” If your fasting blood sugar is more than 126 mg/dL on two or more occasions, you have full-blown diabetes. What Is Prediabetes? People defined as having impaired fasting glucose/prediabetes are individuals whose blood sugar levels do not meet criteria for diabetes, yet are higher than those considered normal. These people are at relatively high risk for the future development of diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), prediabetes is not a disease itself but rather a risk factor “for diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease.” [1] However, the ADA also state that prediabetes can be considered an “intermediate stage” in the diabetes disease process. [1] (One might wonder how prediabetes can be a both a risk factor for diabetes and an intermediate stage of the diabetes disease process simultaneously). In addition to increasing the chance of developing diabetes, it’s well-established that people with impaired fasting glucose/prediabetes are more likely to be overweight or obese, especially with what’s known as abdominal or visceral obesity. They also are more likely to have high triglycerides and/or low HDL cholesterol, and hypertension. [1] Even Normal-Range Blood Glucose Levels Can Increase Diabetes Risk There’s a lot more at stake for thos Continue reading >>
Others put the cutoff at 130 mg/dL to catch more women who may have gestational diabetes, even though there are likely to be more false positives this way. If your blood glucose level for this screening is higher than 200 mg/dL, most practitioners will consider you diabetic and you won't be required to take the glucose tolerance test. But any score between 140 and 200 means that you'll have to take the three-hour glucose tolerance test for a definite diagnosis. What's the glucose tolerance test like? The exact procedure varies, but typically you're instructed to eat a late meal the night before the test. After that you may be told not to eat or drink anything but sips of water, so you'll want to schedule the test for first thing in the morning. When you arrive for the test, a blood sample is taken to measure your fasting blood glucose level. Then you drink either a more concentrated dose or a larger volume of the glucose solution. At that point, brace yourself for three more arm pricks, as your blood is tested every hour for the next three hours. The technician should alternate arms each time your blood is drawn. You'll definitely want to bring something to distract you, because you have to stay seated in the waiting room when your blood is not being drawn. Also bring something to eat right after the final blood sample is taken, because you'll probably be starving. If one of the readings is abnormal, you may have to take another test later in your pregnancy. Or yo Continue reading >>
A condition in which blood glucose levels are elevated, but not yet within the diabetic range. Prediabetes is also known as impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). The new term was inaugurated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) in March 2002 to promote public understanding of this increasingly widespread problem. According to HHS, nearly 57 million Americans have prediabetes. Studies have shown that most people with blood glucose levels in the prediabetes range go on to develop Type 2 diabetes within 10 years; the condition also raises the risk of having a heart attack or stroke by 50%. Prediabetes can be controlled, and in many cases even reversed, through lifestyle changes. Prediabetes can be detected by either of the two standard tests currently used to diagnose diabetes. In the fasting plasma glucose test (FPG), a person fasts overnight and then has blood drawn for testing first thing in the morning, before he eats. Until recently, a normal fasting blood glucose level under 110 mg/dl was considered to be normal and fasting blood glucose in the range of 110 to 125 mg/dl indicated impaired fasting glucose (IFG), or prediabetes. In late 2003, an international expert panel recommended that the cutoff be lowered to 100 mg/dl, so now people with a fasting blood glucose level of 100 to 125 mg/dl are considered to have prediabetes. A fasting blood glucose level over 125 mg/dl indicates diabetes. (A second test must be done on a subsequent day to confirm a diagnosis of diabetes.) In the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), a person’s blood glucose is tested once after an overnight fast and again two hours after he has consumed a special, glucose-rich drink. A normal blood glucose Continue reading >>
Diabetes mellitus (MEL-ih-tus), often referred to as diabetes, is characterized by high blood glucose (sugar) levels that result from the body’s inability to produce enough insulin and/or effectively utilize the insulin. Diabetes is a serious, life-long condition and the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism (the body's way of digesting food and converting it into energy). There are three forms of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that accounts for five- to 10-percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Type 2 diabetes may account for 90- to 95-percent of all diagnosed cases. The third type of diabetes occurs in pregnancy and is referred to as gestational diabetes. Left untreated, gestational diabetes can cause health issues for pregnant women and their babies. People with diabetes can take preventive steps to control this disease and decrease the risk of further complications. Continue reading >>
Your cells require glucose, a simple sugar, to keep your heart beating, your muscles pumping, and otherwise support everything your body does. You obtain glucose from the carbohydrates you eat; even complex carbohydrates can be broken down to simple sugars. The normal range of blood glucose for women depends on how much she ate and when. High blood sugar can be harmful to your health by stressing your kidneys and nervous system, and is used to diagnose diabetes mellitus. Health care providers use a variety of laboratory tests to check blood sugar levels, some that require fasting for up to 12 hours before the blood is drawn. Blood glucose levels that are too high suggest insufficient insulin production, reduced insulin sensitivity, or a combination of the two. Video of the Day Your cells need glucose to make the energy that keeps your heart beating and your muscles warm. Your cells require insulin, a hormone secreted by your pancreas, to help move glucose from your bloodstream across the cell membrane. Abnormally high blood sugar, also known as hyperglycemia, may indicate that the pancreas is not producing enough insulin, your cells are not sensitive to insulin, or a combination of the two. Fasting Blood Glucose Levels The most common test for blood sugar is the fasting plasma or blood glucose test, or FBG. For an accurate reading, it is necessary to fast starting at midnight the day that your blood is drawn. A normal fasting blood glucose level for women is the same as that for a man, ranging from 60 to 110 mg/dL. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 115 to 125 mg/dL may have a condition known as impaired fasting glucose or "prediabetes." A fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dL or greater on at least two occasions diagnoses diabetes mellitus. Health care p 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