What Is a Normal Blood Sugar Level?

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Published January 13, 2016 by David Spero, BSN, RN
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The aim of diabetes treatment is to bring blood sugar (glucose) as close to normal as possible.
What are normal levels of blood sugar, and how can you achieve them?

First, what is the difference between sugar and glucose? Sugar is the general name for sweet
carbohydrates that dissolve in water. Carbohydrate means a food made only of carbon, oxygen,
and hydrogen.

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There are various different kinds of sugars. The one our body uses most is called glucose.
Other sugars we eat, like fructose from fruit or lactose from milk, are converted into glucose in
our bodies. Then we can use them for energy. Our bodies also break down starches, which are
sugars stuck together, into glucose.

When people talk about blood sugar, they mean blood glucose. The two terms mean the
same thing.

In the U.S., blood sugar is normally measured in milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood
(mg/dl). A milligram is very little, about 0.00018 of a teaspoon. A deciliter is about 3 1/3 ounces.

In Canada and the United Kingdom, blood sugar is reported in millimoles/liter (mmol/L). You
can convert Canadian or British glucose levels to American numbers if you multiply them by 18.
This is useful to know if youre reading comments or studies from England or Canada. If
someone reports that their fasting blood glucose was 7, you can multiply that by 18 and get their
U.S. glucose level of 126 mg/dl.

What are normal glucose numbers? They vary throughout the day. For someone without diabetes,
a fasting blood sugar on awakening should be under 100 mg/dl. Before-meal normal sugars are
7099 mg/dl. Postprandial sugars taken two hours after meals should be less than 140 mg/dl.
Those are the normal numbers for someone without diabetes. If you have diabetes, the American
Diabetes Association (ADA) advises keeping your blood sugar levels before meals from 80130
mg/dl and your levels 12 hours after meals under 180. Many people with diabetes and doctors
shoot for levels closer to those of people without diabetes, because they are more protective
against complications. Lower numbers require more careful diet and more frequent monitoring to
prevent lows, but they are doable for many people.

There is also a long-term glucose test called a hemoglobin A1c, HbA1c, or just A1C. This test
gives your average reading over the last 23 months. HbA1c is expressed as a percentage.
Normal for a person without diabetes is below 5.7%. Targets for a person with diabetes
recommended by the ADA are 7.0% or lower if you want tight control.

When glucose levels get higher than normal, they start to cause inflammation in blood vessels
and nerves. This is where all the complications of diabetes come from. So you dont want high
blood glucose levels.

In people without diabetes, normal insulin function keeps sugars in a normal range. When you
have diabetes, insulin function is damaged. You need to give your body conscious help, by eating
right, exercising, taking medications or herbs, and reducing stress.

Low blood sugars are also a potential problem. If you take insulin or a sulfonylurea or
meglitinide drug, there is a risk of your blood sugar going too low. Low blood sugar
(hypoglycemia, pronounced high-po-gleye-SEEM-e-uh) can cause dizziness, confusion, or
fainting.

Normal blood glucose numbers

Fasting
Normal for person without diabetes: 7099 mg/dl (3.95.5 mmol/L)
Official ADA recommendation for someone with diabetes: 80130 mg/dl (4.57.2 mmol/L)

2 hours after meals

Normal for person without diabetes: Less than 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L)
Official ADA recommendation for someone with diabetes: Less than 180 mg/dl (10.0 mmol/L)

HbA1c
Normal for person without diabetes: Less than 5.7%
Official ADA recommendation for someone with diabetes: 7.0% or less

Testing your blood sugar

You can learn what your blood glucose is at a given moment with a fingerstick blood test, using
any available glucose meter. It hurts a little, and the test strips cost money, but you can get good
information. You can reduce the pain and the hassle of needle sticks and get more information
with a continuous glucose monitor or CGM. CGMs measure from a sensor inserted under the
skin, often on the abdomen. (Currently, CGMs need to be calibrated roughly twice a day with a
conventional blood sugar monitor.)
For people taking rapid-acting or intermediate-acting insulin, blood sugar testing should be
frequent. You want to take the right amount and not have your blood sugar go too low.

For people with Type 2 diabetes who are not on insulin, how much to test is up to you. If youre
trying for tight control, you can test after eating different foods and doing different activities to
see how they affect your glucose. Keep careful records of your results and perhaps log what you
were eating and doing before your test.

It doesnt help much to test at the same time every day, usually on waking and before dinner. Test
with a plan; when you change something like a new medicine dose or an herb, then test in the
days afterward. Many monitors keep your result records for you or send them to your computer
or your doctor.

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