Blood glucose (blood sugar) is a form of sugar produced when the body digests carbohydrates (sugars and starches). Blood glucose is the body's major fuel for the energy it needs. When insulin is absent or ineffective, the blood glucose level increases. High blood glucose levels can lead to both short and long-term diabetes complications.

The goal in living with diabetes is to keep your blood glucose level as close to normal as possible, as often as possible. That means maintaining a healthy glucose average—and also preventing blood glucose swings that are too high or too low. Keeping in “good control” helps you feel better and reduces the risk of developing diabetes-related complications. “Poor control,” on the other hand, means falling far outside the healthy range for blood glucose. Poor control affects your health in the present, and puts you at higher risk for the long-term complications of diabetes, such as heart disease, eye, kidney and nerve diseases and even death.

The exact glucose target level can vary by person. A person without diabetes generally has an average blood glucose level of around 100 mg/dL. Good control for a person with diabetes before a meal is 90-130 mg/dL. But a number of circumstances can affect your ability to hit even that average. Your physician will give you guidance as to what average would define “good control” for you.

Each day you make choices for your health about what and when to eat, how active to be and so on. Blood glucose testing can be an important part of diabetes management because it can show you how well your choices are working. The results from your blood glucose meter provide immediate feedback, which can help you understand how different factors are impacting your blood glucose levels.

But testing is not just about getting a test result. It's also about knowing how to interpret each result and how to take action. Your goal should be to keep your blood glucose in the target range recommended by your health care team, and avoid going either too high, which can lead to hyperglycemia, or too low, which can result in hypoglycemia. Once you know your blood glucose level, you can use the information to adjust your food, exercise or diabetes medication, so that you can feel your best. Keeping your blood glucose level as close to normal as possible is one of the best ways to stay healthy and reduces your risk of diabetes complications.

Did you know?
Blood glucose monitoring can be done at any time of the day. But it's often best to plan on testing at specific times, and perhaps at the same times each day. By tracking your blood glucose results, you can learn a lot about yourself—and if necessary, you can make immediate changes to your diabetes care routine.

A fructosamine test reflects your average blood glucose levels of the last two weeks. An A1c test reflects your average blood glucose for the past 2-to-3 months. Combined, these tests provide valuable feedback for you and your healthcare team, so you can stay on target.

Stay in range! You'll feel better and can lower the risk of diabetes complications.

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