Blood Sugar
Levels
The
level of blood sugar in our bodies is crucial to the health of
the body. Most people who know about or have experienced
diabetes will be familiar with the terms Blood Sugar, Blood
Glucose level, blood glucose test and many more. But what does
this Blood glucose really mean? Why does it's level need to be
controlled? Know more.
What is blood sugar level and
what are effects on health?
Blood sugar is the term that refers to the
level of glucose in human body. Glucose is the primary source
of energy in our body. It is transported by the blood stream to
the various parts of the body and carried to various cells and
tissues. Blood sugar or the level of glucose should be strictly
regulated inside our body to avoid any
discrepancies.
The
glucose level should be maintained in the body between 70 to
150 mg/dl. However, the blood glucose level rises just after
having meals and is low before taking meals. If this normal
range of blood glucose level is not maintained, it leads to
some serious ailments. There can either of the two cases.
Either the blood sugar rises above the normal range that causes
hyperglycemia or the blood glucose level falls below causing
hypoglycemia.
Diabetes mellitus is the result of the
persistently high blood sugar level. It is also the most common
form of blood sugar discrepancy. This ailment results in many
other long term diseases related to kidney, eye and nerve
damage. Hypoglycemia is visible in those whose blood sugar
levels drop too low. It can be potentially fatal condition with
symptoms like lethargy, impaired mental functioning, loss of
consciousness and irritability.
How to test blood sugar
level?
The
increased blood sugar level is considered as diabetes. Diabetes
can be tested and measured by two types of test. The first type
of test is the fasting plasma glucose test. This test is done
after a minimum of 8 hours fast. This is mostly done after
overnight fast. In this test, mostly referred as glucose test,
the result is positive when the blood sugar level is above 140
mg/dl after overnight fast. If the result shows positive twice
in at least two occasions, then the person is said to be
suffering from diabetes.
The next test is the oral glucose
tolerance test (OGTT). In this test the glucose level in
plasma is tested at timed intervals over a period of 3
hours. The person undergoing the test first needs to be
tested at a fasting state of at least 10 hours. After
drawing the initial blood sugar the person is given a
highly rich glucose drink. Then the blood is drawn from the
person for test after 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours and 3
hours interval. If the blood sugar level is 200 mg/dl or
more than that after 2 hours of drinking that sugar rich
drink then the result of the test is positive. During
pregnancy, the blood sugar level of the woman normally
decreases. This state is called gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes can also be tested through OGTT,
however the statistics are different. She has gestational
diabetes if the fasting plasma glucose level is 95 mg/dl, a
1-hour glucose level is 180 mg/dl, 2 hour is 155 mg/dl and
3 hour is 140 mg/dl.
Blood sugar level should be
regularly tested if you are 25 years old or more. These
tests should be undertaken after every three years even if
the test result is normal. You have a chance of diabetes if
you are obese or have a family history or have high blood
pressure or cholesterol.

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