Diabetics, This Is the Only Blood Sugar Chart You’ll Ever Need

If you need to keep track of your blood sugar—during the day or over the weeks and months—you'll need this chart as a reference.

Tracking blood sugar is vital for anyone struggling with diabetes, even if you’re already following these 7 habits to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Since your target blood sugar—aka glucose—levels change throughout the day, it’s important to keep in mind exactly what those targets should be. Use this blood sugar chart as a healthy-level reference for when you wake up, before and after meals, and at bedtime.

Fasting or before meal glucose: 90–130 mg/dl

After-meal glucose: (two hours after the start of your meal) >180 mg/dl

Bedtime glucose:  100–140 mg/dl

Another way to get a read on your blood sugar is through the A1C test—it lets you know where your glucose levels have been on average, over the last three months or so. How does it do that? A1C is a protein in red blood cells, and it binds with glucose. Because these red blood cells have a lifespan of about three to four months, the amount of blood sugar A1C collects can reveal the long-term average of your glucose levels. You can translate the A1C percentage into a formula you’re more familiar with using the blood glucose levels below on this blood sugar chart.

The-Only-Blood-Sugar-Chart-Youll-NeedTatiana Ayazo/Rd.comLooking to take control of your condition? Try this step-by-step plan to reverse diabetes.

Reader's Digest Canada
Originally Published on Reader's Digest Canada