Maintaining a normal blood sugar level is the best thing you can do for your health if you are diabetic. When you monitor your blood glucose with the help of diabetic testing strips, you are able to control your blood sugar by knowing how it reacts to different things. Without enough control of your blood sugar, you are susceptible to all kinds of complications. The kidneys are the most well known organ to be damaged by diabetes, but the heart, eyes, and lungs are also affected.
Diabetics need to know how their blood glucose levels fluxuate, so they need to be checked several times a day. Blood sugar needs to be checked twice a day at minimum – right before bed and right when you wake up. You should also test them around your meals, both before eating and two hours after you finish. When you take your readings first thing in the morning, it should be under 100. Blood glucose levels above 140 damage the body, according to many medical researchers. However, you are going to need to work even harder and keep your blood glucose under 120 in order to prevent damage, according to some researchers.
Dietary adjustments are important for diabetics in order to maintain good health. The best way to know how you respond to certain foods is to test your blood sugar both before you eat and then again two hours after. It is also a good way of determining whether your treatment plan is working. A good level for your blood sugar before a meal is in the nineties or less. While that is a good goal to shoot for, you do not want to take it too far. If your blood sugar is in the sexties or seventies, it will need to be raised up because it is too low. Two hours after you finish eating, you need to have a blood sugar no higher than 125. Cutting back on simple carbohydrates and adjusting your treatment plan may be necessary if your blood sugar is higher than 125. If your blood sugar levels at bedtime are higher than 105, you should talk to your doctor to see if you possibly need to adjust your treatment. A blood sugar reading in excess of 140 means that you need to visit your doctor as soon as possible to discuss your treatment plan.
When sugar levels in the blood are tested to be too low, eating something will raise them up again. The brain cannot operate without some glucose in the blood, as it cannot use anything else as a fuel source. If your blood sugar levels drop below a safe level, you become disoriented. If it continues dropping, you could potentially enter a coma.
Diabetics are able to monitor their blood sugar by using diabetes test strips such as the Ascensia Autodisc test strips. Diabetics will not be able to remain healthy if they do not test their blood sugar levels frequently. Diabetes needs to be controlled in order to avoid the potential complications of high blood sugar, such as blindness, kidney damage, or heart disease.