Ideal Blood Sugar Level for Diabetics

Checking your blood sugar with personal use blood glucose monitors and keeping a logbook of results can lead to better control of your diabetes. Knowing the best ranges that your blood sugar should fall into can help you understand what a high result is and what results are too low. All ranges are given for measurement with personal blood glucose monitoring devices in standard locations.

People in the United States

• According to the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse, the best blood sugar ranges for people in the United States are as follows:
  Fasting blood sugar (upon waking, before breakfast)---between 80 mg/dl and 120 mg/dl
  Before meals---between 80 mg/dl and 120 mg/dl
  2 hours after eating---less than 160 mg/dl
  Before sleeping---between 100 mg/dl and 140 mg/dl

  The blood sugar ranges are given in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) of blood. This is the proper measurement for American usage (where all other locations use the English, or world standard) and can be converted to the world standard millimoles per liter of blood by dividing the amount by 18.

People in the United Kingdom

• According to Diabetes UK, the best blood sugar ranges for your testing results are as follows:
  Type 1 diabetics---adults: between 4 mmol/l and 7 mmol/l before meals and less than 9 mmol/l two hours after a meal is consumed
  Type 1 diabetics---children: between 4 mmol/l and 8 mmol/l before meals and less than 10 mmol/l two hours after consumption of a meal.
  Type 2 diabetics---between 4 mmol/l and 7 mmol/l before meals and less than 8.5 mmol/l two hours after eating

  The ranges of blood sugar levels in the United Kingdom are given in millimoles per liter of blood. This is the proper measurement for England (the world standard) and can be converted to the American milligrams per deciliter of blood by multiplying the amount by 18.

Results of Improper Blood Sugar Control

• Proper blood sugar control can keep a diabetic with a lower A1C number (a test measuring the three-month average of blood sugar numbers that is used to show how well the diabetic is controlling her diabetes) and with fewer risk factors for diabetic side effects. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), side effects of improper blood sugar levels include blurry vision, sweating, twitching, headaches and confusion. Long-term blood sugar control issues can lead to blindness, kidney malfunction and neuropathy. Too high blood sugar is called hyperglycemia and too low blood sugar is hypoglycemia.