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Good Blood Sugar & Cholesterol Levels

Glucose, or blood sugar, is produced by the metabolism of the food you eat, and provides you with energy. Blood sugar levels are most often used in diabetes testing, because too much glucose in the blood may mean you're not producing enough insulin, the hormone that helps glucose do its job.
Cholesterol, on the other hand, is a fatty substance produced by your liver that helps in the production of hormones and vitamins. Any excess cholesterol in the blood clogs up the arteries in your heart and can lead to heart attacks.
While these two substances have quite different functions, they are similar in that levels of each are determined by blood tests.

  1. Glucose Tests

    • There are four common glucose tests. Fasting blood sugar: Done following an 8-hour fast. This is often the first test done if diabetes is suspected. Two-hour postprandial blood sugar: Done about 2 hours after you've eaten. Random blood sugar: Done randomly throughout the day to see if blood sugars vary widely--a sign of trouble. Oral glucose tolerance test: Done with pre-test, followed by drinking sugary liquid, then retesting. This is used solely to diagnose gestational diabetes, so it's only done on pregnant women. Glycated hemoglobin (A1C) test: Done about every 2 to 3 months to test average amount of glucose in your blood. This test gives a picture of how diabetes has been managed over time.

    Normal Glucose Levels

    • Blood glucose levels are measured in either milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or the internationally used millimoles per liter (mmol/L). The good or normal level varies slightly depending on which test you have done. In general a normal value would be: 70 to 99 mg/dL or less than 5.5 mmol/L for a fasting blood sugar test; 70 to 145 mg/dL or less than 7.9 mmol/L for a postprandial blood sugar test; 70 to 125 mg/dL or less than 7.0 mmol/L for a random blood sugar test.
      The A1C test is measured as a percent of glycated hemoglobin. Four to 6 percent is considered a good value.

    Cholesterol Tests

    • The cholesterol level by itself can be tested via a finger stick, as is often done at health fairs. However, if you need a full lipid profile---which measures components of your cholesterol---then you will need to fast for at least 9 hours and have your blood drawn from your vein in a laboratory.

    Normal Cholesterol Levels

    • Like glucose, cholesterol is measured in either milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or the internationally used millimoles per liter (mmol/L). A good total cholesterol level is less than 200 mg/dL. A level of 200 to 239 is borderline high, and 240 is considered a strong risk factor for heart disease.
      If you have a full lipid profile done, you will also get numbers for the low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglycerides. An LDL below 100 is good if you have other factors that put you at risk for heart disease--100 to 129 if you don't. An HDL below 40 indicates a higher risk for heart disease. More than 60 means less risk. A triglycerides level less than 150 mg/dL is good, but 150 to 199 mg/dL is borderline high.

    When to Have Blood Tests for Blood Sugar or Cholesterol

    • Glucose testing is done whenever diabetes is suspected. If you already know you're diabetic, you should be testing your blood sugar regularly throughout the day per instructions from your healthcare provider.
      Cholesterol tests should be done annually for men over 35 and women over 45, to determine risk of heart disease. A full lipid profile should be done about every 5 years, but is ordered more often to help determine dosage and effectiveness if you're already taking drugs to lower your cholesterol.

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