Normal Blood Sugar Explained

Having normal blood sugar is something the majority of the population take for granted, in fact most probably have no idea of what it is.

So what is a normal blood sugar?

This is not really an exact science and does depend on what time of day it is. It is generally at its lowest point when you wake up, mainly because your body is doing nothing to burn energy. If you suddenly jump out of bed and go straight into a 10 mile run (a miracle with me!), your blood sugar level will start to drop, and then drop more rapidly the further you run.

If however you get out of bed and eat a good breakfast your blood sugar levels will shoot up (it does this after every meal, unless you are eating sand for some strange reason!!!). If you then go for a run most of the energy required will be replaced as you digest your food. Incidentally, digestion uses up a lot of energy which is why some people can feel strange after a good meal.

As our bodies age, they can be less tolerant to certain foods. When I was a kid, likely many folk (well all of you actually unless you are genetically grown as an adult!), I could eat sweets till it came out of my eyes. 40 odd years later if I overeat on a few jellies my body can feel weaker than normal as it processes the sudden overdose of sugar. A quick thrash on the drum kit usually sorts that out as I burn some off.

Now our body requires something to manage sugars and we call this insulin, which is actually a hormone, and this has some control of our bodily functions and metabolism, which is different for each person, hence the whole thing about normal blood sugar is not a straight forward subject.

Insulin causes liver, muscle, and fat tissue cells to absorb glucose from your blood, and it is then converted to glycogen to store in your liver and muscle. This will be used up before your reserves of fat tissue, as burning glycogen is more efficient.

Your doctor can do blood sugar tests to see if you are in the normal range, which is quite wise, especially if you just do not feel right, your urine has changed over time, or you are overweight. The latter is now one of the West’s biggest problems when it comes to blood sugar.

The number of folk who do not have normal blood sugar is growing, and you will know it by its names: Type 1 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes. Neither of these are nice to have and can be avoided in a lot of cases if you keep an eye on your sugar levels (you can buy cheap devices from your local chemist to check daily, you do not need to be a diabetic).

Type 1 diabetes is when your body stops producing insulin altogether and you need to use injections to help your body manage sugars, as well as keeping to a pretty strict diet.

Type 2 diabetes is a form of insulin resistance. This can be controlled usually without the injections in most cases; usually just sticking to a diet does the job. If that does not work, you will be required to try medication.

Diagnosis for both types of diabetes can be done by your local doctor, but even with them you can still maintain normal blood sugar with good management of the disease.

If you think you may have blood sugar problems, with some symptoms being frequent urination, increased thirst, tiredness and fatigue, genital itching or recurrent thrush, some loss of weight, get checked out, these could be signs of Type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes symptoms may be Blurred vision, Cuts or sores that take a while to heal, Itching skin or yeast infections, Excessive thirst, Dry mouth, Frequent urination, Leg pain.

Remember, doctors are never displeased if you go and they find nothing wrong with you, as they are happy it gives you peace of mind. If they do however find something like diabetes, you can then manage your sugar levels with no problems for the rest of your natural life. Although complications can surface in diabetes they are now pretty rare compared with the past, but it is better to find out early than too late.

For a more detailed concerning the science of normal blood sugar you may find this blood sugar article useful.

An excellent source on diabetes and normal blood sugar management is the Diabetes UK site.

If you ever have any symptom of diabetes then visit a doctor as soon as possible.