Average Blood Sugar Level

The blood sugar level measures the amount of glucose in the blood. How does glucose get in there? Well, when you eat food, it gets broken down and the glucose in one of the nutrients enters the blood stream which transports it to the various cells in the body that need glucose for their daily operations. But, if the body needs blood glucose, why do people make such a big fuss about high blood glucose levels and the need to have normal blood sugar level?

Blood Glucose

So, let's spill the beans about it already. Sure our body needs the glucose to power it and help it perform its daily quota of work. But you probably have heard that old saying about too much of a good thing, and same stays true in the case of body glucose. Keeping an abnormally low or high blood sugar level for several years, can have a damaging impact on the smaller blood vessels in the body. Which is to say that if you have too much glucose running about in your blood vessels, they will, starting with the smaller ones, begin to deteriorate. Later on, there may be other complications as a result of above average blood glucose levels. Which may lead to potentially life-threatening situations, such as retinopathy (eye disease), nephropathy (kidney disease), neuropathy (nerve disease), cardiovascular diseases and an increased chance of getting a stroke. So, if you have more than average blood glucose level, you ought to be worried about bringing it down. More so, if you're diabetic. Reason enough to bring down the blood sugar hopefully?

Average Blood Sugar Count

Now, the level of glucose in your blood differs at different times during the day. The blood sugar levels are lowest in the morning, before breakfast, known as the fasting blood sugar levels. This is because it has probably been a good 10 hours before you last ate, and the glucose in your blood has probably subsided. The glucose level 90 minutes after eating a meal is said to be the highest, because 90 minutes after eating the glucose is properly absorbed in the blood stream and almost none of it has been supplied to the various parts of the body. And just before bed time, the average blood sugar level is lower than what it would be, 90 minutes after a meal.

Hence, the average blood glucose range is different based on the different times at which you measure your blood sugar with the blood glucose test. The healthy blood sugar range is hence lower for those testing in the morning, a bit more for those testing just before bed time and the highest for those checking just after having a meal. Blood sugar levels are measured in a unit called mg/dl which indicates the milligrams of sugar present in every deciliter of blood.

So here are the average levels for each time of the day.

• Before Meals: 80 - 120 mg/dl
• 2 Hours After Meals: Less than 180 mg/dl
• Bedtime: 100 - 140 mg/dl

Now that you know the average blood sugar range, you will be able to keep a check on your blood sugar levels and rein them in before the situation becomes too dire.