In the last article I explained the three primary markers we use to track blood sugar: fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and hemoglobin A1c (A1c). We also looked at what the medical establishment considers as “normal” for these markers. The table below summarizes those values.
| Marker | Normal | Pre-diabetes | Diabetes |
| Fasting blood glucose (mg/dL) | <99 | 100-125 | >126 |
| OGGT / post-meal (mg/dL after 2 hours) | <140 | 140-199 | >200 |
| Hemoglobin A1c (%) | <6 | 6-6.4 | >6.4 |
In this article, we’re going to look at just how “normal” those normal levels are – according to the scientific literature. We’ll also consider which of these three markers is most important in preventing diabesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. But before we do that, I’d like to make an important point: context is everything.
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this article series, there are potential problems with how well these tests are utilized to diagnose diabetes. This is an area that needs further study, but continuous glucose monitoring for the general population may be a better marker.
In my work with patients, I never use any single marker alone to determine whether someone has a blood sugar issue. I run a full blood panel that includes fasting glucose, fasting insulin, A1c, fructosamine, uric acid and triglycerides (along with other lipids), and I also have them do post-meal testing at home over a period of 3 days with a range of foods.
If they have a few post-meal spikes and all other markers or normal, I’m not concerned. If their fasting BG, A1c and fructosamine are all elevated, and they’re having spikes, then I’m concerned and I will investigate further.
On a similar note, I’ve written that A1c is not a reliable marker for individuals because of context: there are many non-blood sugar-related conditions that can make A1c appear high or low. So if someone is normal on all of the other blood sugar markers, but has high A1c, I’m usually not concerned.
With all of that said, let’s take a look at some of the research.
Fasting Blood Sugar
According to continuous glucose monitoring studies of healthy people, a normal fasting blood sugar is 89 mg/dL or less. Many normal people have fasting blood sugar in the mid-to-high 70s.
While most doctors will tell you that anything under 100 mg/dL is normal, it may not be. In this study, people with FBG levels above 95 had more than 3x the risk of developing future diabetes than people with FBG levels below 90. This study showed progressively increasing risk of heart disease in men with FBG levels above 85 mg/dL, as compared to those with FBG levels of 81 mg/dL or lower.
Far more important than a single fasting blood glucose reading is the number of hours a day our blood sugar spends elevated over the level known to cause complications, which is roughly 140 mg/dl (7.7 mmol/L). I’ll discuss this in more detail in the OGGT section.
One caveat here is that very low-carb diets will produce elevated fasting blood glucose levels. Why? Because low-carb diets induce insulin resistance. Restricting carbohydrates produces a natural drop in insulin levels, which in turn activates hormone sensitive lipase. Fat tissue is then broken down, and non-esterified fatty acids (a.k.a. “free fatty acids” or NEFA) are released into the bloodstream. These NEFA are taken up by the muscles, which use them as fuel. And since the muscle’s needs for fuel has been met, it decreases sensitivity to insulin. You can read more about this at Hyperlipid.
So, if you eat a low-carb diet and have borderline high FBG (i.e. 90-105), it may not be cause for concern. Your post-meal blood sugars and A1c levels are more important.
Hemoglobin A1c
In spite of what the American Diabetes Association (ADA) tells us, a truly normal A1c is between 4.6% and 5.3%.
But while A1c is a good way to measure blood sugar in large population studies, it’s not as accurate for individuals. An A1c of 5.1% maps to an average blood sugar of about 100 mg/dL. But some people’s A1c results are always a little higher than their FBG and OGTT numbers would predict, and other people’s are always a little lower.
This is probably due to the fact that several factors can influence red blood cells.
A number of studies show that A1c levels below the diabetic range are associated with cardiovascular disease. This study showed that A1c levels lower than 5% had the lowest rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and that a 1% increase (to 6%) significantly increased CVD risk. Another study showed an even tighter correlation between A1c and CVD, indicating a linear increase in CVD as A1c rose above 4.6% – a level that corresponds to a fasting blood glucose of just 86 mg/dL. Finally, this study showed that the risk of heart disease in people without diabetes doubles for every percentage point increase above 4.6%.
Studies also consistently show that A1c levels considered “normal” by the ADA fail to predict future diabetes. This study found that using the ADA criteria of an A1c of 6% as normal missed 70% of individuals with diabetes, 71-84% with dysglycemia, and 82-94% with pre-diabetes. How’s that for accuracy?
What we’ve learned so far, then, is that the fasting blood glucose and A1c levels recommended by the ADA are not reliable cut-offs for predicting or preventing future diabetes and heart disease. This is problematic, to say the least, because the A1c and FBG are the only glucose tests the vast majority of people get from their doctors.
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OGTT / Post-Meal Blood Sugars
If you recall, the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) measures how our blood sugar responds to drinking a challenge solution of 75 grams of glucose. I don’t recommend this test, because A) it’s not realistic (no one ever drinks 75 grams of pure glucose), and B) it can produce horrible side effects for people with poor glucose control.
However, there’s another more realistic and convenient way to achieve a similar measurement, and that is simply using a glucometer to test your blood sugar one and two hours after you eat a meal. This is called post-prandial (post-meal) blood sugar testing. As we go through this section, the numbers I use apply to both OGTT and post-meal testing.
As the table at the beginning of this article indicates, the ADA considers OGTT of between 140 – 199 two hours after the challenge to be pre-diabetic, and levels above 200 to be diabetic.
But once again, continuous glucose monitoring studies suggest that the ADA levels are far too high. Most people’s blood sugar drops below 120 mg/dL two hours after a meal, and many healthy people drop below 100 mg/dL or return to baseline.
A continuous glucose monitoring study showed that sensor glucose concentrations were between 71 – 120 mg/dL for 91% of the day. Sensor values were less than or equal to 60 or 140 mg/dL for only 0.2% and 0.4% of the day, respectively.
On the other hand, some studies suggest that even healthy people with no known blood sugar problems can experience post-meal spikes above 140 mg/dL at one hour. As I said in the beginning of the article, context is everything and all of the markers for blood sugar must be interpreted together.
If post-meal blood sugars do rise above 140 mg/dL and stay there for a significant period of time, the consequences are severe. Prolonged exposure to blood sugars above 140 mg/dL causes irreversible beta cell loss (the beta cells produce insulin) and nerve damage. Diabetic retinopathy is an extremely common (and serious) diabetic complication. Cancer rates increase as post-meal blood sugars rise above 160 mg/dL. This study showed stroke risk increased by 25% for every 18 mg/dL rise in post-meal blood sugars. Finally, 1-hour OGTT readings above 155 mg/dL correlate strongly with increased CVD risk.
What does it all mean?
Let’s take a look again at what the ADA thinks is “normal” blood sugar:
| Marker | Normal | Pre-diabetes | Diabetes |
| Fasting blood glucose (mg/dL) | <99 | 100-125 | >126 |
| OGGT / post-meal (mg/dL after 2 hours) | <140 | 140-199 | >200 |
| Hemoglobin A1c (%) | <6 | 6-6.4 | >6.4 |
But as we’ve seen in this article, these levels depend highly on context and whether all markers are elevated, or just a few of them.
If you’re interested in health and longevity – instead of just slowing the onset of serious disease by a few years – you might consider shooting for these targets. But remember to interpret the numbers together, and also remember that blood sugar is highly variable. If you wake up one morning and have a fasting blood sugar of 95, but your A1c and post-meal numbers are still normal, that’s usually no cause for concern. Likewise, if you see a one-hour post-meal spike of 145 mg/dL, but all of your other numbers are normal, that is also usually no cause for concern.
| Marker | Ideal |
| Fasting blood glucose (mg/dL) | <86* |
| OGGT / post-meal (mg/dL after 2 hours) | <120 |
| Hemoglobin A1c (%) | <5.3 |
*If you’re following a low-carb diet, fasting blood sugars in the 90s and even low 100s may not be a problem, provided your A1c and post-meal blood sugars are within the normal range.
And the good news is that this can be done cheaply, safely and conveniently at home, without a doctor’s order and without subjecting yourself to the brutality of an OGTT.
I’ll describe exactly how to do this in the next article.
Better supplementation. Fewer supplements.
Close the nutrient gap to feel and perform your best.
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Like ‘veryconfused’, I too, have been looking for the third article to be written as part of the series, ‘Why your “normal” blood sugar isn’t normal’ but don’t see one and can’t find it via the search option. Chris references it at the end of Part 2. Was it ever written? If so, can you provide a link to it, please? Thank you.
https://chriskresser.com/thyroid-blood-sugar-metabolic-syndrome/
I thought there was suppose to be a follow up article for the
Why your “normal” blood sugar isn’t normal (Part 2) but I can not find it? Help
https://chriskresser.com/thyroid-blood-sugar-metabolic-syndrome/
Hi Folks, I want to ask a question. I have been monitoring my FBS for last couple of years and it remained between 85-87 mg/dl except for once 97 mg/dl (when I was stressed). The more recent FBS was 87 mg/dl which was done in January 2014. My A1C was 4.4 in June 2013. Yesterday I had high pulse ~120 BPM and feeling lightheaded so I went to clinic where these checked my sugar level, it was 153 mg/dl 1 hour after meal and 159 mg/dl 2 hours after meal. Today morning my FBS was 109 mg/dl. I am very surprised and concerned seeing these relatively high number of my readings. Can someone here tell me what is going on with me, or it just might be a temporary thing? To add into a bit more, this week has been extremely stressful and increased my heart beat over 100. Could this is due to this? I would highly appreciate any insight or comment. Thank.
You wrote “If you’re following a low-carb diet, fasting blood sugars in the 90s and even low 100s may not be a problem, provided your A1c and post-meal blood sugars are within the normal range.”
Does the same rule apply for the A1c levels (6%) for a 25 year old female who exercises five days a week and eats a low-carb diet? In other words, could a high A1c level and a normal fasting blood glucose level be a result of being on a low-carb diet?
I have a question. How come on one day I can eat a spaghetti dinner and never go above 80 and maybe a week later eat the same exact meal and I can go as high as 175 and it takes forever to go down. This happens frequently. My doc is running some saliva tests for cortisol, can this be a culprit?
Thanks Deb G for the info. I will check that book out on the net.
Yes, my diet has been more or less the American Standard, however, I have also done the Atkins diet with great success regarding blood sugar control. In New Zealand, so many of the foods do NOT have chemicals, so, I am forced to eat better. LOL, it all tastes weird to me, guess I am use to chemicals and not REAL food.
I can believe that pizza raises the sugar, it sure did mine, that was one of the times it went so high, it took all night to get back to normal, the next day, even though the FBS was OK, it still wanted to go high after I ate. Last night, I had a small Lasagne, I took tow 500 mg of my herbal Berberine and 2 of my herbal sugar control, both help to keep levels lower, and they sure do, at least with me, The first hour, of course, it went to 137, then the 2nd hour, 154, the third, 117, I ate some cashews before the 4th hour and went to bed, not planning on checking the sugar, but, I started to feel very “weird” and my tummy hurt badly, so, I checked it, it was 68. This morning, it was back to 89,
Mike, I would love to have your readings after I ate, to me, they are outstanding, but, everyone’s body is different. I was told that it is not hypoglycaemia until the readings are in the 50’s.
UGH, I accidentally typed the wrong email address for replies, I had to re-do it. I am not awake yet, LOL
Hi Deb B
Thanks for your info. I have not heard of those book before, I will look for them on the “net”. My diet, has been the standard American diet, not as much though over here in New Zealand,. LOL, the food here taste so different, I have been told that is because they do not use as many chemicals. It is actually forcing me to eat better. I did have a pizza on one of those days that my BG went so high, and you are right, it took all night to get it back to normal and the next day, even though the fasting was OK, my BG was still very prome to going higher,.
Last night, I had some Lasagne, before I ate it, however, I took 2 of my 500 mg berberine caps and another herbal that controls BG with Gymnema Sylvestria. Well, an hour after eating, my BG was 137, the second hour, 154, the third hour 117 and then the 4 th hour 68, I was not going to check the fourth hour as I had eaten some Cashews before bed, but, as I was trying to relax in bed, I got very sick to my tummy and felt weak, so, I decided to check the BG, sure enough, it was 68. This morning, after 7 hours of sleep, my FBS was 89. So, I know for a fact that the herbal products work, I will continue to take them, I had been before, but stopped for a few days and that is when it started to climb.
I did not know that the BG machines were not too accurate for non-fasting BG’s, I often wondered.
Mike, I would have been happy with all of your readings, so would my doctor. I would not say it was hypoglycaemia, I have been told it is not that until you reach readings in the 50’s, everyone’s body is different however.
I’ve been feeling ‘off’ for years now. I’ve complained to my doctor who has run the usual blood tests to tell me I’m OK and just need some anti-depressants. I feel I know my body pretty well and I know something is up. I have multiple food allergies which i suspect are throwing my body out of whack in many subtle ways. I’m trying to eliminate foods I’m allergic to like wheat, gluten, rye, barley, eggs, etc. The carb cravings have been overwhelming and I’ve been eating more and more sugar.
I picked up a glucose meter to see what my blood sugar is doing when I feel good and when I feel bad. Out of curiosity I did my own little OGTT. My blood sugar was 87 before the test and within 15 minutes after I started ingesting my carbs it was 149. I retested in 15 minute increments for the next three hours. The readings were 139, 116, 83 (1 hour mark), 93, 95, 93, 74 (2-hour mark), 77, 75, 77, 77 (3 hour mark). I tested again after 4 and 5 hours and got 78 and 78. I was drinking water during the test, but not large amounts.
At the 2-hour mark (reading of 74) I started feeling ill, shaky, tired, and hungry. After that I started getting a headache and just felt crummy.
I guess my question is this, is it normal for blood sugar to peak and drop that quickly within an hour?
I am not a doctor, but it sounds like hypoglycemia.
my doc told me after sufficient testing to eat protein (a slice or two of turkey/chicken/beef etc.) every 2-3 hours and just before bedtime until your FBG is fairly consistent. She doesn’t like to see FBG in the 70’s and really doesn’t mind FBG in the 90’s as long as there is a consistent number and not a pattern of huge spikes. She is also ok with moderate carbs, if it is not a problem.
I noticed a mistake, I meant to say that my last A1c was 6.0
Hi, I just found this site and would like to participate. I will give my numbers, etc.
First, my last A1c was 6.1, the doc said it was Pre-diabetes in January of 2014, OK, I get it that part, but what confuses me is that at home, on my glucometer, all my fastings were “Normal” however, back then, I had not checked after meals, so maybe they were the culprits. Now, I am checking all the time and driving myself crazy. In the morning sometimes fasting is 95 and other times 85, it varies day to day. Usually, after a low carb meal, it drops to the 80’s the first hour and lower the second. On some days, when I am naughty and eat wrong, my b/s sugar is still low, and on other days, I can eat the same thing, and it goes sky high, again, not consistent. Normally, however, since February, my fbs is 90, 1 hour after, 120, 2nd hour, back to 90, but, that changes as well. In February, of 2014, on the 5th, it was horrible. I think I had eaten Lasagne, well, before, my sugars did not change much, but that night, WHAM-O I started at 80 before the meal, I forgot to take it at the one and two hour mark, but did at the 3 hour mark, it was 175, then at four hours, down to 160, then at 5 hours, back to 175. I went to bed, because by that time, it was 2 AM, but when I woke up at 8:00 and took it, it was back to 89!!!! This horrible ordeal has only happened once, but, I have gone up to 178 since, but come down to normal in 2 hours. I don’t know if I was extra stressed that day or what, I am under tons of it, my marriage is not good, my dear dad died 2 years ago and my very best friend died 7 months ago, I live in a strange country, I am from America, but moved to New Zealand last year, and I am soooo unhappy. Anyway, what does confuse me is why the daily differences, even though I may eat the same thing on two different days, my sugars will register differently as well.
I will say, when I was 24 (I am now 56) I had the horrible 6 hour OGTT done by a Naturopath, my fasting was 94, the first half hour, I sky rocketed up to 198, the hour mark, to 212, the two hour mark, 155, the three hour mark, 113, the four hour mark, 55, and the fifth and sixth hour, 76. I was told I was hypoglycemic. I tried another test 6 years later, but I broke out in hives due to fear and the readings were wrong, this one, however, was only insulin level and again, was told I was Insulin Resistent.
Most of my A1c’s have been around 5.5, 5.7, and 6.0, I have not had that many however.
I do know that in the past, I have never drank much water, so maybe this accounts for some of the higher levels, also, when I exercise, it goes lower. But, I have another question, when I exercise, it goes to “normal,” but then, about a half hour later, rises again, but then goes down, why would this be? UGH.
Anyway, that is my story, I am sure my stress is off the charts, I have just sent in the “all day saliva” tests to see where my cortisol levels are as well as other hormones as I am post-menopausal. I am doing this long distance as I do not trust the doctors here in NZ, it is tedious doing the mailing, but well worth having my same Naturopath of 7 years.
A positive note, I am now exercising daily, either via taking 45 minute walks with my dogs, or doing the vigorous, 45 minute indoor walking with my Leslie Sansone DVD, I feel so good afterwards and my bs sure shows it. I am trying to eat better as well, I need to lower my cholersterol and LDL as well. My blood pressure is outstanding, it is always 110/75.
Hello Susan, My heart goes out to you in your isolation, but I applaud your bravery in taking the steps to tackle this issue. Nor sure what your ‘past’ eating history is (Standard American Diet?). If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend Jenny Ruhl’s Blood Sugar 101 book. It will explain many of the vagaries of BS monitoring. Much of the information is also available on her web site (the book is just a bit more logical in its lay out). Tim Ferriss actually did some interesting experiments with his glucometer in 4-hour body. Basically showed the huge variations based on finger used, many things you would not expect. Bottom line, be glad you don’t have to use these devices to administer insulin, they have a very high ‘legally’ allowable accuracy range. Yes, stress, infections, what you ate 24 hours previous can all impact your BS. It is more a matter of generally tracking and seeing patterns and making correlations with what is going on in your life. BTW – have have seen it anecdotally reported that pizza will elevate BG highest and keep it there longest. The components of lasagna (gluten/wheat flour, cheese and tomato sauce) would perhaps be very similar. Good luck!
Thanks Chris for the great information. I just started testing my fasting blood glucose and it was high (97) but for past few weeks I have been eating very low carb and felt slight relief after reading this post. So, if and when I eat carbs, my FBG would go down? As your post states, I don’t value what is considered “normal”, I too subscribe to the importance of optimal health.
I haven’t had my Hemoglobin A1C tested in awhile, so I can’t comment about that number right now.
I am still confused as to whether or not low carb creating insulin resistance is good or not? Can please you clarify this for me? Don’t I want to increase my insulin sensitivity? and am I preventing my body from burning fat?
Also, I just listened to a podcast from Kiefer about carb re-loading and it makes sense about eating carbs at the right time, what are your thoughts about low GI not being as important or conventional wisdom says?
Thank you.
Hi Chris. I have been reading your stuff for years now, but rarely tried to pose any questions to you because I appreciate how massively busy you are.
But now, I have a problem that is really freaking me out and I have tried to read all I can from the smarter nutritional thinkers about it and still feel like something has happened which I don’t understand. I think you might be the most likely person to have some insight.
I have suddenly started to see big postprandial blood glucose spikes (138, when 88 is more my usual) that hang around for several hours even when I have only eaten some fish and green veggies cooked in coconut oil. I am also seeing much bigger spikes after exercising.
My fasting glucose is also sitting much higher than usual (100 compared to my usual 64-72). I am still generating ketone bodies in the low nutritional ketosis range ( I measure this with a blood ketone device).
I read your views and those of hyperlipid about temporary insulin resistance on low carb diets, and decided I would try introducing more carbs in the form of sweet potato to see whether that regulated things again and kickstarted my insulin sensitivity. But it has not, and after a few days on sweet potatoes in the evenings, I have had rubbish sleep and feel high as a kite, and have higher glucose readings than I have ever seen in my life, even compared to when I was a big grain and sugar treat consumer. I am starting to feel a bit scared.
I am 42, fit and highly active, not overweight at all, otherwise healthy, eat ancestrally all the time and have done for several years, and for the past year on the low carb side of things because I find my brain tends to work better and that it tends to keep my energy more stable. Suddenly everything has changed….
I am not sure which way to go, up the carbs even more, or stay right off them? My instincts and appetite seem to be telling me to fast on fat, but this seems risky if the problem has been caused in the first place by being too low carb.
The only thing that has really changed in the last week is that I increased my heavy weight lifting, going from once to twice a week.
Any suggestions?
Alison
I destroyed my insulin sensitivity going low carb. After 6 months on a low carb diet with refeeds I started seeing fasting glucose above 110 and post-prandial 160. I quit testing after and hba1c test came back 4.9, but it was still very scary and I don’t even know what my numbers are now.
Oh please, Margaret…just recently you said fish oil gave you diabetes. Which is it?
Umm… no.
To clarify, I was misinformed about the fish oil.
Hi Alison. Have you seen any changes since this last post? I wonder about this as well (my story is similar). I read/listen to MANY nutrition sources and from what I can tell – we are still keeping insulin low (key to anti-aging and many other health metrics). So measuring blood sugar is a ‘proxy’ for insulin. Have you had your insulin measured via lab test ever? That said, some of the strategies I have read are: once a week carb day (SAFE starches, not junk food) and do not combine with fat. This would also achieve a protein fast, which is also an anti-aging/autophagy strategy. Some members of the Calorie Restriction Society have excellent blood sugar success with high carb diets (high fiber, low glycemic carbs like fibrous veg, barley). They are able to be in ketosis a large part of the day, but it is through ‘narrow eating window’ and being in a fasted state for many hours through the night (I do not recall their insulin numbers, tho – but blood sugars are fantastically low). Have you read the writings of Dr. Ron Rosedale? May help give you comfort/additional insight. Keeping blood sugar low should work for the majority, however, we are all biochemically unique. Biggest question: how do you feel? I have been experimenting with resistant starch (unmodified potato), but need to get serious about tracking blood sugar impact (it is reported to lower it), also there are some plant based compounds that may help (I have one brand ordered). I want to test/track in an n=1 manner that I can positively say what works for me (and therefore what might work for someone else), but right now I can’t. Hope that gives you a few other areas to consider that maybe you hadn’t. D
It sounds like cortisol. Cortisol will raise your glucose, and strenuous workouts can raise your cortisol. I would look at your intensity and scale back a bit.
I’ve recently started working out. With a very low carb diet, (+/- 35/day) I have my FBS between 82-95 and rarely are the posts above 115. 1 hour after workout, and still fasting, it will raise to 150. Current A1c = 5.6, 1000mg Metformin 2X daily. Any suggestions to moderate this?
Hi, my son is 5 and recently had some tests done (all fasting.) His glucose was 73 (range 65-99), A1C 5.4 (range 4.8-5.6), BUT what concerns me is that his insulin was 0.9 (range 2.6-24.9), and C-peptide 0.5 (range 1.1-4.4). We’ve always noticed that he has extreme mood swings related to food. I did a couple of prick tests on his finger when he was having these episodes and his glucose level was 50 once and also low the other time. I haven’t measured his glucose levels any other time, but his pediatrician said it’s normal because he doesn’t have elevated fasting glucose levels. Do you think the levels are normal or I should seek a second opinion? Thanks for your help!
Hi Laura.
CK is no longer posting on this thread.
50 is hypoglycemic territory. keeping protein in your son’s diet every 2-3 hours will help keep it more stable and not dip so low.
This is what my practictioner told me, when I was having drops, but not as low as 50, it did stable me quite a bit.
Also, eating a bit of protein just before bedtime.
Can anyone else offer some thoughts?
What causes a person to go hypoglycemic? I’ve had numbers in the high 40s and low 50s and I thought the meter was malfunctioning.
Margaret – I don’t know the scientific cause, but not eating often and diet contributes to it, try keeping protein in your system every 2-3 hours and right before bedtime.
This may help the drops.
I used to be hypoglycemic and eating a paleo diet improved my symptoms. I used to have nocturnal hypoglycemia eating the SAD, like 40 the whole night.
Now I’ve been checking at every single night I have numbers like 100 at 2am. Every single night. But when I wake up it’s always 70 or in the low 70′s.
It seems like there is a dysregulation but I don’t know why or what can I do to improve it. Can you help me and give me your opinion on why this happens?
Thank you very much and keep up the good work.
Greetings from Spain
as someone else mentioned in the comments, your liver may need some help. Perhaps you could try drinking lemon water throughout the day (1/2 lemon squeezed into a glass of water upon waking up and more throughout the day) or taking a liver supporting herbal supplement such as milk thistle, dandelion or burdock root (get these in pill or tincture form at your local health store or online).
try these for a few weeks and see if your numbers improve.
My fasting blood glucose is 110, last year it was 120. My A1C is totally in the normal range. My doctor said my anxiety can raise my FBG levels. I am slightly overweight and enjoy a drink or two every night. I have gone back on the treadmill and stopped the drinks. Also, watching my diet very carefully. Do you think I have taken the proper steps?
My over 12 hours fasting glucose results are almost always rather high, mostly 97, 98 or even 99.
But my post meal glucose readings barely go up, doesn’t matter if tested 45 minutes, 1 hour or 2 h after a meal, my post meal glucose readings are almost always just a few points higher than the fasting readings, so mostly only 100 or 101.
Do I need to worry about my rather high fasting glucose results?
Isn’t 81 or less the optimal fasting glucose reading?
Or don’t I need to worry about higher fasting glucose results because my post meal glucose readings are well below 120?
I follow a low carb vegan diet since years (I never eat junkfood), can low carb dieting cause higher fasting glucose results?
FYI: I’m not a diabetic and I don’t take any medications
My fasting glucose is always in the 70’s or low 80’s and I eat mostly carbs lol. I guess being male, running and 145 pounds helps.