Normal blood sugar levels are defined as under 100 mg/dL during fasting and less than 140 mg/dL 2 hours after eating.
Hyperglycemia is when blood sugar levels are higher than 125 mg/dL after fasting and higher than 180 mg/dL 2 hours after eating.
Having high blood sugar can lead to many serious health complications such as damage to the eyes, nerves, heart, and peripheral vascular system.
It is essential to reduce high blood sugar levels through diet and lifestyle factors to prevent health problems associated with high blood sugar.
High blood sugar levels can develop into type 2 diabetes.
Someone is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when they have the following outcomes on these tests.
A fasting blood sugar level of 125 mg/dL or higher.
A 2-hour fasting blood sugar level of 200 mg/dL or higher during a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test.
A random blood sugar level of 200 mg/dL or higher with symptoms of hyperglycemia
A hemoglobin Alc level of 6.5 % or higher
Monitoring your blood sugar levels throughout the day is helpful to see how your diet and lifestyle are affecting your blood sugar levels.
To prevent type 2 diabetes, healthy blood sugar levels must be maintained, within optimal normal ranges.
Do you have normal blood sugar levels, impaired blood sugar levels, or type 2 diabetes?
In every situation, you can make diet and lifestyle choices to bring blood sugar back to balance. If you have impaired blood sugar levels, this is a critical point where you have the opportunity to prevent type 2 diabetes from developing.
Measuring your blood sugar levels is a great way to track your progress. You can take your blood sugar before meals, 1-hour post-meal, and 2-hour post-meal to see which foods cause spikes in your blood sugar and which foods help normalize blood sugar.
I had slightly impaired glucose tolerance on my oral glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes, which has stricter guidelines than the blood sugar numbers noted in this post. This event sparked my desire to track my blood sugar levels for a few days to find out what was going on.
I can tell you that the information from tracking blood sugar levels is valuable. While I didn’t mind monitoring my blood sugar levels for a few days, if I had any choice, there is no way I would want to track my blood sugar levels every single day and inject insulin to lower high blood sugar.
I would do everything in my power to reduce high blood sugar levels through diet and lifestyle.
What are normal fasting blood sugar levels?
A normal fasting blood sugar level is 70-99 mg/dl. According to the American Diabetes Association, fasting is defined as at least 8 hours of nor caloric intake.
A fasting blood sugar of 100-125 mg/dl is considered prediabetes and impaired fasting glucose.
What are normal blood sugar levels after eating?
A normal blood sugar level after eating is under 140 mg/dl 1-2 hours after eating.
Blood sugar levels between 140 and 199 mg/dl are considered prediabetes or impaired blood glucose.
How to test blood sugar levels at home
To test your blood sugar levels at home, you will need to get a blood glucose meter, a lancet, and testing strips.
Contour Next One is the blood glucose meter that I used. You can pair the meter with the contour app on your iPhone to keep track of your readings and make notes of the foods eaten.
Before testing your blood sugar levels, wash your hands with soap. Use the lancet to prick the side of your fingertip to draw a tiny drop of blood. Dip the test strip into the blood, then insert it into the blood glucose meter to get a reading.
Be sure to include notes with the reading, such as fasting blood sugar or 1-hour post-meal with food eaten prior.
Testing your blood sugar throughout the day will help you see what foods spike your blood sugar the highest and what foods stabilize your blood sugar levels.
Candy, pop, sweet treats, and refined carbohydrates are likely to cause rapid blood sugar spikes. These foods can lead to the overproduction of insulin and weight gain.
To reduce blood sugar levels it is best to eat healthy carbohydrates full of fiber such as fruits, vegetables, beans, and grains in their whole food form. The fiber found in plant foods helps to slow down the absorption of glucose.
According to Robby and Cyrus, Authors of Mastering Diabetes, eating too many fats leads to insulin resistance and elevated blood sugar levels. They recommend eating a low-fat plant-based diet to reverse type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance.
Practicing intermittent fasting and exercising is a great way to help reduce elevated blood sugar levels. Glucose is first stored in the muscle and liver. Exercising uses up the glucose in the muscle tissue so that the next time you eat, your muscles are hungry for glucose and can absorb more glucose from the bloodstream.
High blood sugar levels and insulin resistance is associated with weight gain caused by a fatty liver. Reversing the fatty liver is essential for weight loss.
Blueberries are also one of the best superfoods to improve insulin sensitivity and prevent type 2 diabetes.
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Thank you Amber for all the info you are sending. Much appreciated. I do have a glucose meter as I had it for my late husband. But the numbers you are writing about is different. Must be American. I used to check my husbands regularly and had to make sure it’s under 6 I occasionally check mine. its o.k. . I do like to eat fruit like mangoes blue berries red papaya some I grow in my garden in Pottsville. I also grow green vegs organic in my garden. I will start having more veg smoozies from raw greens, I used to put fruit wit it to help the taste probably not a good idea. I have a look at your products and see what I would need. I want to lose 2 kg what I put on during this pandemic. You got my details.
Hi Suzie, Good to hear from you! and I’m glad you are eating lots of fruits and veggies from your garden. Yes, the numbers would be different as these are the numbers used in the US and Canada, but you can use an online converter to compare the US to Australian numbers 🙂