Learning About Blood Glucose Levels
Living with diabetes, regardless of the type, requires knowing your blood sugar levels in order to properly manage this disease. A popular resource from Diabetes Canada is the list of Seven Self Care Behaviours. Among these behaviours, you’ll find monitoring, which advises how to maintain proper blood glucose levels. As explained in the ABC of diabetes, the proper management of type 2 diabetes is based on three factors: A1c, blood pressure and cholesterol. Being vigilant about the maintenance of these three things is crucial to your overall health with diabetes. The role that blood sugar level management plays in everyday life with diabetes cannot be overstated. In particular, delaying the incidence of complications depends on proper management and establishing an adequate plan with a healthcare professional.
The evidence
Results from different important clinical trials have been published highlighting the importance of managing blood glucose levels, including Accord (Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes), Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) and Veterans Affairs Diabetes Trial (VADT). All of these publications, among others, indicate the relationship between lower HbA1C levels and the appearance and progress of microvascular complications.
Although each person has different requirements and we know that glycemic goals can and should be personalized, there are different guidelines that help to establish goals, like the ones published by Diabetes Canada and the American Diabetes Association.
Diabetes Canada
| Before Meals (Pre-prandial) | After Meals (post-prandial) | HbA1c |
| 4.0–7.0 mmol/L72–126 mg/dL | 5.0–10.0 mmol/L90–180 mg/dL | Less than 7% |
American Diabetes Association
| Before Meals (Pre-prandial | After Meals (post-prandial) | HbA1c |
| 4.4–7.2 mmol/L80–130 mg/dL | Less than 10.0 mmol/L180 mg/dL | Less than 7% |
International Diabetes Federation
| Before Meals (Pre-prandial) | After Meals (post-prandial) | HbA1c |
| Less than 6.4 mmol/L115 mg/dL | Less than 8.9 mmol/L160 mg/dL | Less than 7% |
Where do we start?
First, it is important that you work on a plan together with your doctor or diabetes educator. Choose the most appropriate objectives in your case and measure your blood sugar to keep track of your levels, analyze the causes of highs and lows and work with a healthcare team to improve numbers. This is a learning process so don’t despair. The important thing is not just to keep records and note details but to learn to identify areas of opportunity to improve levels in the event that it’s necessary.
