Although there is no cure for diabetes, it is manageable. Every year new types of medication and medical devices provide more and more choices to people with diabetes. Yet the basic foundation for good diabetes care still focuses on healthy eating and physical activity, plus monitoring your blood glucose level and taking medication, as needed.

Changing your lifestyle and habits to live with diabetes can be a real challenge. But the benefit of taking care of yourself and your diabetes includes preventing or delaying serious health complications ranging from tingling feet to kidney failure and blindness. When your blood glucose level is in normal range you feel better. So talk to your doctor or diabetes educator and develop a diabetes management routine that works for you so you can live your life without limits.

When you have diabetes—whether Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, or a related condition—your primary goal should be to maintain “good control.” If you are in “control,” it means that you are keeping your blood glucose levels in a healthy range. Different standards are used to measure control. However, the recommended blood glucose ranges can vary from person to person. Once you know your personal targets, you can start taking steps to manage your diabetes and your overall health.

What is “Good Control”?
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 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.

All people with Type 1 must inject insulin to survive. Most people with Type 2 need diabetes medications, and sometimes insulin injections, to help control their blood glucose level. All people with diabetes benefit from healthy eating and physical activity .

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