Normal Blood Sugar

 

Consider blood the superhighway of your body. Blood transports fuels, nutrients, water, oxygen, hormones and immune cells to all your body parts.

Glucose is the primary fuel of your cells. It is a sugar, a very simple sugar. Glucose is derived from foods we eat, especially the carbohydrate containing foods, and it can be formed in our liver from other sugars or proteins.

Glucose carried in the blood is what is known as "blood sugar". All people have "blood sugar". It is essential for our lives.

Blood glucose levels are not constant. They rise and fall within a healthy range, based upon the time of day, food or beverage ingestion, stress, exercise, and hormone activity. But there is a normal blood sugar range that is considered healthy, and our bodies usually produce and respond to hormones which maintain this healthy range.

The normal range for blood sugar is 70 mg/dl on the low end and up to 110 mg/dl on the high end. The lowest blood sugars are usually attained when food has not been eaten for a number of hours. The is known as the fasting state. They are also affected following vigorous, sustained exercise. The highest blood sugars are usually 1 to 2 hours after meals, especially meals with a large amount of carbohydrate.

Normal Blood Sugar Regulation

Hormones regulate the rise and fall of blood glucose. These hormones are produced in response to glucose concentrations of the blood.

Three main body functions effect blood glucose changes. These are:

1.	The digestion and absorption of carbohydrate in food (raises blood sugar)
2.	Physical activity and muscular demand for fuel (lowers blood sugar)
3.	Hormone activity (regulates glucose to maintain healthy range (70-110 mg/dl))

Two main classifications of hormones regulate blood glucose.

1.	Insulin is the hormone that causes blood glucose to fall. Under normal conditions, the pancreas secretes this hormone when blood glucose concentrations rise.
2.	Counter regulatory hormones (glucagon, epinephrine, growth hormone and cortisol) cause the blood glucose to rise. When glucose concentrations begin to dip low, counter regulatory hormones are secreted. These act convert stored carbohydrate back into glucose, and can create new glucose supply from proteins. Thus, these hormones cause blood sugar to rise again. See Normal Blood Glucose Regulation

Understanding High Blood Sugars of Diabetes

As is true for everyone, people with diabetes have blood glucose levels which rise and fall. However, with diabetes, the rises are too steep or occur on top of an already elevated blood sugar level. At the same time, drops in blood sugar are minimal. This is because insulin is either inadequately produced or because it is ineffective at stimulating target cells.

No matter what the cause, the result is the same for all people with diabetes. Insulin is unable to keep blood sugar low enough to be healthy.

Ranges of High Blood Sugar

The most dramatic blood sugar elevations usually occur when a person's body produces no insulin at all. Although these elevations can be extreme, in most cases of diabetes early signs are usually evident. All forms of diabetes can result in dangerously high blood sugar levels if left untreated and out-of-control.

Each elevated blood sugar range carries a degree of risk for developing complications . While it does not always follow that individuals with the highest blood sugars develop the most complications, there is a strong relationship with blood sugar control and the risk of serious complications.

The goal of blood sugar range targets is to minimize the risk of complications based upon one's individual profile.