The blood test that is done for checking diabetes is a test to check the blood sugar levels in the body. The test is carried out in two phases on the same day. The first blood test is carried out on the patient?s blood when he is fasting. So, a patient coming for the test arrives without taking his breakfast or even a cup of morning tea or coffee. If the blood sugar levels are found to be 126 milligrams per deciliter or higher, on two separate occasions, after fasting, then there is a likelihood of diabetes.

Following this, another blood test is taken after the patient has had his breakfast and a cup of tea or coffee. This time the blood sugar levels should not go above 200 milligrams per deciliter. In case it is above this mark, then the likelihood of diabetes is high. At times the patient is given 75 gram glucose solution to drink. Then the blood sugar levels are checked for monitoring the blood sugar levels as well as the measurement of ketones, which are the products from the breakdown of fats.

Once these tests have been successfully carried out, the patient is prescribed a course of treatment which involves both the physical and emotional aspects of his being, as diabetes is not a malaise of the physical body alone. It is also a disease that affects one?s emotions and reactions.

Normal Blood Sugar Levels ARE Possible for a Diabetic!

What are normal blood sugar levels? Fasting (blood sugar level after not eating for 8 hours) blood sugar should be between 70 milligrams per deciliter to 100 mg/dL. Your blood sugar should not be above 100 at any given time; If it is, this suggests a pre-diabetes condition. A level of 100 - 199 suggests prediabetes. A level over 200 suggests that you have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

There are several steps in lowering your blood sugar. Try the following if you are interested in more normal blood sugar levels.

A. Begin slowly lowering your carbohydrate intake. If you want to get very specific on which foods you can and cannot eat, check out diet that Dr. Richard Bernstein recommends. He has done all the testing for us and eliminated all foods that had a make up that could not be tracked. After all, if you can't track it, you can't manage it. Also, check out our diabetic recipes page for some delicious low carb meals. If you stick to a pre-calculated amount of carbohydrates per meal, your insulin amounts should be the same every day.

B. Test your blood sugar more frequently. We test from 5 - 10 times per day. If your fingers can take it, the blood sugar readings are imperative to helping understand if the insulin amounts are correct or not. Know your A1C. This test is very revealing as to how you are doing with blood sugar levels and should be under 6.0%.

C. Pay attention to how and when your type of insulin works. For example, before meals, Isobel gets about 2 units of Regular Humulin Regular Humulin insulin. This particular insulin is given about 40 minutes before a meal because it takes that long to begin working. Humalog on the other hand is a more fast acting insulin and if given for meals, should only be given about 5 minutes before eating. Check with your doctor or do your own research on your insulin to make sure you are giving it enough time to start working before you eat.

D. Stop snacking and limit yourself to three meals per day. Snacking is habitual and can easily be broken.

The level of blood sugar control predicts the onset and severity of diabetes-related complications for both types of diabetes. This means that if you have diabetes, if you can keep your blood sugar levels as close as possible to normal, you can live a normal life span with few or even no complications at all. A non-diabetic's normal blood sugar range is from 70 - 100. There is no reason why a diabetic can't strive for the same levels.

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Understanding Blood Sugar Levels Recommended Resources:

Harvard School of Public Health

Family and Consumer Sciences