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.
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Hi,
I was losing weight, thirsty and peeing a lot so I went to the doc and she had me take a blood test. The test came back that my FBG was 330 and my A1C was 12.6. The doc immediately said I had diabetes and told me to eat no salt, sugar or pasta. I did that and within 2 weeks I brought my FBG down to 98 – 118 range and continue for over a month to be around 83 to 110.
I have been trying different foods to see what spikes my levels and so far nothing spikes my levels. Is it possible that I’m pre-diabetic and not full blown diabetic?
Thanks for the very informative information.
Craig
Is it normal for blood glucose to go to 59 one hour post a meal of pasta? 90 minutes at 96.
I am highly active and not overweight. However, over the last 8 months I have put on 10lbs without reason. If anything, I have cut my carbs to low and increased my activity. 90 minutes cardio some days. 3-4 days per week of boot camp on top of the cardio.
I am now on 1000mg of metformin.
Super confused
Hi Chris
Would a pregnant women who eats a low carb diet with 1 hour post meals blood sugar range from 94-110, but a fasting blood sugar at 94 be considered to have gestational diabetes?
Thanks.
Chris, do you have a link that connects all parts of this article together?? I am having a hard time finding the other parts!
Part 3 especially.
Part 3? https://chriskresser.com/how-to-prevent-diabetes-and-heart-disease-for-16
Hi Chris, Thanks for the informative article. I did what you recommended and got a monitor to see what was happening to my blood sugar levels. Here are a few of my results
(eating a footlong sandwhich)
Fasting: 87
pre-meal: 82
1 hr: 149
2 hr: 124
3 hr: 101
(eating chipotle chicken and rice bowl)
1 HR: 143
2 HR: 104
3hr: 93
I was wondering what your thoughts are on this. It seems that your article and the research it cites tend to say that small spikes up to 140 can be normal, but even at the 2 hr mark it is till hovering around 120. However the other meal I had, theres the spike of 140 at 1 hr, but at 2 hr it is way below 120. So I’m a little perplexed at what this numbers might mean, but I guess it really depends on how much carbs you are eating at that particular meal. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated
I forgot to mention that I do have several risk factors. I am 25 yo, my BMI is 29, my a1c was 5.6%, and both my grandmothers have diabetes. Does the results above suggest that I might be pre-diabetic?
Hello Chris,
I liked your article. I am 7 weeks postpartum. I was diagnosed GDM at 28th week of pregnancy. My fasting was always normal. I was only on diet and exercise control and managed my blood sugars v well. At 6 week post partum my fasting is normal but 2 hr OGTT is 154 mg/dl and hbA1c is 5.9. I do not have family history of Diabetes. What could have made me pre-diabetic ? I am again on diet and exercise control.
I am confused a little and maybe you could help me. I took the OGTT and my results were FBG 73, one hr 47, 2 hr 57. This test was murder and my body has not been right since. However, I do understand now that I have experienced these low levels before. I have since bought a meter and if I eat a high carb meal I will see my #’s at 196 one hour after then 112 @ 2nd hr. I have also seen 162 2 hrs after eating. I have low numbers in my diary as well 54, 47.. I am not overweight nor have I ever been obese. I was an athletic kid but the strange thing is I remember throughout my 37 yrs of life frequent urination, inability to drink alcohol, sensitivities to medicine, food additives, restless leg syndrome and extreme fatigue ( sleeping entire days as a kid and have recently started to do the same). My Mother and Brother have hypothyroidism and similar urination trouble. My Brother was going to get checked for hypoglycemia but his endocrinologist said she doesn’t believe in it. I will admit after checking with my meter, it’s more accurate to check that way. My hypoglycemia symptoms will come as my bg is declining. I have an appointment with endocrinology and of course my TSH is normal. We all know how accurate that test is. Anyway, your thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Also, the high numbers I quoted were found when I wanted to test myself with carbs to see why if I eat potatoes I get pain in my back by my kidneys. I hate that pain so the numbers are lower since I eat low carb. Makes me wonder what they were when I was eating the way I was before with more carbs and chocolate with lots of tea. Oh my, I can’t even tollerate one cup of tea now.
Sorry this was so long. I am frustrated and have had some horrible experiences with Dr’s in the last year. I am eager for someone who will examine, the big picture.Thanks.
I was at the hospital a couple weeks back and mentioned to a nurse that I think I might have pre-diabetes or even type 2 diabetes, as my one hour blood sugar level after thanksgiving dinner was 250 mg/dl. She laughed and said that hers ‘probably hit 300’ and said not to worry about it. It’s stuff like this that makes me not want to use doctors for anything. Many are clueless, granted this was just a nurse and I know the medical industry is very compartmentalized with lots of ‘specialists’ that are just good at one or two things.
I control my blood sugar levels with salads and high omega 9 dressing to go with it which has replaced lo mean (chinese pasta) that I used to eat. I found out about this blood sugar spike myself, since my fasting sugar readings at the yearly health screenings were always in the 90’s which is ‘normal’
Sad thing is, these post meal blood sugar spikes have likely been going on for years, without my realizing it, looking back at past fasting numbers. My a1c was at 5.6% when I tested it, so it’s not super advanced by any means. Usually my blood sugar does not rise above 110 now with my meals, and will be lowest in the evening, where I can find it down in the 80’s.
First mistake of the medical industry.. using 100 as a good fasting number, it should be set under 90. Second mistake, not testing post meal levels or encouraging people to do so on their own. It’s actually very easy to self monitor for diabetes but I never see this brought up in the mainstream media, nor is the connection between high blood sugar and heart problems due to inflammation ever brought up.
Seems to me reasonable to assume that undiagnosed type 2 diabetic conditions could be more at fault for heart attacks than saturated fat, since people who eat saturated fats usually eat a lot of things like potatoes and french fries, and have a high level of omega 6’s in their diet, which are arguably bad in excess.
forgot to add, other than suffering from anxiety/stress issues I’m fairly healthy. I’m hoping reducing the anxiety/cortisol levels through lifestyle changes will reduce the insulin resistance.
My cholesterol is tested at 130, triglicerides I forget the exact number, I’m pretty sure they were in the 60’s. My HDL higher than LDL. 6 foot, 170 lbs, don’t drink, do jog in 4-5 mile stretches. Blood pressure usually from 118/78 to 124/78. Don’t drink or smoke. No family history of anything medical issues on either side of the family, they all live to be very old, even when they are overweight they still hit 80 years old.
My one failing are lifestyle habits that maintain my stressful personality type, which has gotten up to panic attack levels since November. Stress kills. The medical industry likes to blame it on a whole list of things but are reluctant to approach one’s mental state which can be hard to fix but can be done, with discipline.
I’m trying to put these all together:
A1C: 6.1
CRP: 3.4
Fasting blood sugar: 6.5-6.9 (117-124)
Following a low carb diet for 1.5 years (50-80gms carbs per day)
Anemic (106 the last test)
Low iron for 12 years (heavy menstrual)
Post-meal blood sugar: 7.5 (135)
Over weight. Mostly belly fat
Female age 49
Started metformin 2 weeks ago at my insistence. Went up from 250mg to 500 two days ago because I have seen no change.
The doctors here have no clue. But I have no where to get help. I’m sure you don’t want to diagnose over the message board but could you point me in the right direction?
I was diagnosed with Type 2 in January (2012) and this article has been incredibly valuable to me, in terms of setting personal goals, and aiming for truly good health, as opposed to just stalling serious illness. Aiming for the markers mentioned in this piece, as opposed to the benchmarks set by so many other diabetes forums and sites, I regularly have a BG level of 120 or so two hours after a meal, and have brought my A1C down from an 8.3 in January, to 5.7 just last week. The amazing thing is that it hasn’t actually been difficult – more a matter of paying attention to how my body reacts to both food and activity, and making informed choices. Thanks for this valuable resource.
Hi Chris
i recently test my fasting blood sugar and the result was 116. This morning i drink a milk shake and test it 11/2 hour ( One and half hour) later and the result is 119. can u please give me some advice, i am over weight also.
thank you
sarah
Dear chris many thanks for ur efforts towards diabetes .ur blogs reallys helps those who have many concerns abt diabetes .i am on of them ,,,i am 35 years old male
i was diagnoses only once with FBS 122 and total cholestrol 215.however my HDl ,LDL and trig was fine ,,after a week my FBS was 99 and my 2hours after posmmeal sugar never corss 125 its always stays between 110 and 125 ,,and now my total cholestrol is under 200 … i m using two machines at home one is bayer contour wich always showing my fbs below 100 and accu check above 100 to 105 ,, my AC1result is 5.1 my Dr said its ok nothing to worry about , i m very concerned and afraid if sometime diabetes gonna catch me , my question is am i at risk of having diabetes ? what does one time spike ? i have no family history of diabetes , i m not over wieght and doing regular excericse .i m not friend of sodas and fast foods .please reply .
Hi Chris,
My husband had recent health chech up. Here are the nos
FBG:117 mg/dl
post pradial (2hrs): 81mg/dl
He is identified with slightly enlarged liver and has high tryglycerides (335mg/dl). Does this indicate anything alarming? He has high BP and takes medication for that.
Please advice me. me
My fasting blood sugar is 72. Should I be concerned about it being too low? Is this an indicator of a sort of pre-hypoglycemia? Or am I completely ok?
Hi Chris,
I was wondering if you could help me understand the connection between the adrenals and blood glucose in my situation.
I never used to monitor blood glucose until going on Hydrocortisone due to depleted adrenals that would not respond to any other supplements. My main symptom before going off of it was continued night wakings, up for hours at a time, usually presenting with hunger or adrenaline. I just weaned off of the Hydrocortisone after being on it for approximately 10 months. I gained quite a bit of weight on it, and had other symptoms, like increased systemic candida, that prompted me to go off.
Since being off – I am now waking in the middle of the night with that same gnawing pain in my stomach (despite a high protein, high fat snack before bed), and often eating some Goraw sunflower seeds throughout the night, as I wake frequently. My blood glucose is usually around 100, slightly under or over. I also have had higher fasting readings since weaning.
This is extremely puzzling to me – and I know there is a connection with cortisol. Do you think this points to high cortisol or low? I eat paleo/GAPS, and it almost seems as though I started having issues when I went grain free.
Thanks so much for any advice!
Jill
Endocrinologists say her numbers do not make sense and are at a loss at this point. Would love an opinion on where to go from here.
11y/o female with unexplained weight gain for past 6 years.
Fasting OGTT with 75 gram glucose drink: ( This was done twice due to high insulin levels, with similar results )
Glucose:
Fasting specimen 66
1 hour specimen 102
2 hour specimen 107
Insulin Response to Glucose:
Fasting Specimen 23
1 hour specimen 215
2 hour specimen >300
Leptin 42.5 (high)
C-Peptide 3.09 (normal)
Glycosylated Hemoglobin A1C 5.4 (normal)
Lots of bloodwork, everything else basically normal. Strange that C-peptide is normal, but insulin is outrageous. She is on NO medications and no exogenous insulin.
Also had negative MRI of pancreas.
Thanks for looking and for your thoughts.
I’ve been in a similar situation since age 16 (23 now). I’ve seen two endocrinologists so far, on top of five different general practitioners and none of them could give me answers beyond “its diabetes but not diabetes”, which explains and means absolutely nothing. It is extremely frustrating.
My fasting insulin is/was (?) an average of 24 mU/L (optimal is 6 mU/L).
My fasting glucose is anywhere from 87 to 104 (average 89) mg/dL
Insulin C-Peptide 2.5 ng/mL (normal)
A1C always normal (never over 5.5%, currently around 4%)
oGGT 220 mg/dL at 2 hours
bona fide diabetic range, but I’m not actually diabetic. I continued the test myself until 5 hours where I then experienced a sudden drop to 77 and then 72. I did experience hypoglycemia at those levels.
24 hour Cortisol 117 mgc/24hr (over 50-70 mcg is officially hypercortisolism by most reference ranges; Kaiser’s cut-off is far too generous at 125 which is why it was not explored further).
None of these results make sense together. They are not supposed to be possible. Especially not the C-Peptide and Insulin level discrepancy because Proinsulin is supposed to split into a perfect 1:1 ratio into actual Insulin and C-Peptide (C-Peptide is basically just a byproduct or waste in the Insulin manufacturing process). I’ve not been able to find anything anywhere about what could or does cause this to be imbalanced… I’ve been searching for six years. As far as the internet is concerned, there is no explanation (though its probably in some obscure textbook somewhere that costs too much money for the lay-person to reference…). One possible theory out there is that this COULD be the result of ‘impotent insulin’, but I have my personal reservations about that. It wouldn’t be interesting enough to get a diagnoses even if it was (extremely expensive too I bet, “experimental” something not covered by insurance and all that).
Point is, I also cannot get a definitive diagnoses and they’re not interested in helping me either (they’re not even looking/testing anymore). My pediatrician actually told me I was perfectly fine even despite his running the same metabolic panel that the first endocrinologist did. She pegged it as ‘syndrome x’ but it actually is not (it is but it is NOT the primary cause of everything else, it is a secondary condition). However, at least it was a start… even if it is now a dead-end.
Very strangely, after I’d followed the advice of Mayo Clinic with the MED or Mediterranean ‘diet’ (the alleged “cure” for this) in just two months of that, I encountered my first and severe hypoglycemic episode (before that I’d only ever had very slight hypoglycemia). The significant change I made for that? Replacing my carbohydrates from white flour to wheat and whole grain. It was severe enough that I lost sensation over my entire body (it started in my liver area and then rapidly spread everywhere else – it had to have been an extreme amount of insulin flooding out of my pancreas) and then I also had an absentee seizure. A movie was on one minute and it was infomercials the next. I slept for over 24 hours after this attack and I felt absolutely fried, like every nerve in my body was shot (I felt toxic actually; like I was intoxicated but I really wasn’t. I don’t even like aspirin). I know my insulin was sky-high because I could smell it and taste it, not just feel it.
I know I’ve had whatever this thing is since I was at least 12 years old (that is when the rapid weight gain began as well as some of the lesser symptoms) and I still don’t have an answer. I wish I could help you but I just wanted you to know there is an explanation for this. Keep pushing it and advocating for your daughter. I wish my mom would have done that for me… maybe I’d have the answer if she would have. Too late now. I’m not a cute kid anymore… they don’t care about adults.
Diet and exercise failed. This is NOT ‘lifestyle’ related. It is something else.
You know what… even having high Cortisol AND Insulin is not supposed to be possible, let alone mismatching levels of Insulin and C-Peptide. Cortisol is the anti-Insulin and Insulin is the anti-Cortisol. It is always supposed to be one over the other, never both like this.
However, it seems entirely possible that this is a liver-related problem in the first place. Look into the new information about that. Something to do with the FOX06 gene. There is also now strong indication that ‘hepatokines’ (liver hormones) are involved in causing insulin resistance (and therefore the myriad of other later progressions, e.g. actual type 2 diabetes). So its not the pancreas, but the liver that is the problem… no wonder they’re not making progress with diabetes and other diabetes-like disease processes. The nimrods are looking at the wrong and non-causative organ! How embarrassing.
I hope you and your daughter get the right diagnosis soon. Sorry I can’t help more.
Oh, one more question. If you’re on a VLC diet, are your PP target values the same as everybody else’s? My PP readings are rarely over 120 (unless I eat too much fruit or dessert during my night meal). (Incidentally, I’ve also noticed that if I eat too many carbs, my readings are usually lower after a long meal than a short one.) For my first meal of the day (during which I have very few carbs), my PP readings are almost always below 110 and quite often below 100 as well. OTOH, my PP readings rarely in the 80s–should they be? If so, why?
The PP targets are the same; it’s the VLC diet that is probably keeping you from exceeding them (that’s the point of VLC in people with insulin resistance). As long as you’re under the targets, statistically speaking you are not at greater risk for future blood sugar complications.
OK, thanks, Chris.
This is a fascinating article. I had never heard of the “dawn effect” before, but it describes some of what I’ve observed with my own readings.
Concerning “2 hour” post-prandial readings, I’ve read that if your meal lasts less than 30 min., you should start timing “2 hours” from when you begin your meal. However, if your meal lasts longer than 30 min., you should take your blood-sugar reading 1 1/2 hours after the end of your meal. I’ve also read that the target for your reading should really be < 110.
I have a question. Does anybody know if it's common for one's body chemistry to change as you reach middle age? When I was younger, I ate a high-carb diet with relative impunity and had normal weight. When I was 30, for instance, I had a FBG of 84. However, once I reached my mid-30s, my weight just started creeping up and up. Until then, I usually weighed in the low 140s. But then my weight started to get as high as 153. Unfortunately, I don't know what my blood-sugar readings were then. About a year later, I completely changed my diet and switched to the "Weston A. Price" diet. It wasn't a low-carb diet per se, but rather a healthy moderate-carb diet with more protein and fat, and no processed foods. On that diet, I ended up losing nearly 20 pounds. However, even though my weight was in the 130s, when I had my FBG taken a couple years later, it was 105! I don't remember what my HA1c was, but I believe it was pretty high as well. Anyway, I changed to a strict low-carb diet after that, and my readings got better, and my fasting insulin was even less than 2.0! Currently, I usually don't consume more than about 30-40 grams of carbs a day.
But what I'd really like to know is why my body seemed to lose the ability to tolerate a lot of carbs in my mid-30s. Has that happened to anybody else? Why would my FBG be 84 when I was 30 and on a high-carb diet (with lots of white sugar and sometimes fast food), and then 105 when I was 38 and on a healthy, moderate-carb diet (with no white flour or sugar or fast food), and weighed less 5-10 lb. less at 38 than I did at 30? I shudder to think what my FBG was when I was about 35 and weighed as much as 153.
Hi Chris,
I wonder if you can help/comment – I am T2 & was wondering if one should skip breakfast when experiencing high waking blood sugar readings? The reason I ask, is that I am worried by eating breakfast with high readings, this would only elevate the readings much higher? If one should skip breakfast, how long should one wait before eating anything?
Another thing I would like to mention & am wondering if anyone else has experienced is that I can somewhat control eating during the day or eat very little but get very intense hunger prangs during the night – I have been eating my main meal later & later – now at any time between 23:30- 00:30 but a couple of hours later, I still get hunger pangs & cravings? I find myself getting top a few times during the night as I have a huge urge to snack? What is going on?
Many Thanks!
Dear Chris, my question is a bit different. I really want to know if “normal” can be different for different people. I’ll try keep my back story short; I was diagnosed as T2 in 2001. I first tried the doctor recommended route of metformin and regular testing with little to no diet modification. That unsurprisingly (I know now) didn’t work. I did my own research and eventually went on the induction phase of Atkin’s diet (never got off phase one because it was working so well for me, lol!) Got pregnant after years of trying, and then had to go high carb again due to money issues. After my first pregnancy, my blood sugars actually looked normal according to every test. I stayed relatively low carb, having gotten ALL sugar and most non veggie carbs out of my diet. Got pregnant again. My blood sugar numbers still looked good and my doctor asked me if I was SURE I was diabetic. (I don’t have daily numbers to reference, sorry.) While staying relatively low carb, I do not get the symptoms of high blood sugar – such as sleepiness after eating, nausea, and frequent headaches. Nor do I “crash.” Most importantly, my cycles stay normal!
During my second pregnancy, I had my first case of gout – complete with high uric acid levels, but normal blood sugar levels. It resolved itself with no drugs in a very short period of time.
Fast forward to this year. Over the last 1-2 years, I have slowly allowed more and more carbs into my diet. I feel it is important to mention that I am a food nazi. I insist on eating and feeding my children a nutrient dense, mostly organic, mostly low carb diet. All our fruits and veggies are organic. As for these carbs, even they wouldn’t be considered much to most people. A sandwich for lunch on authentic sourdough about half of the time, and a pasta dish using organic noodles about 2-3 days a week. (On foodstamps, I have to save money somewhere, and even organic pasta is so much cheaper than meat…) I make a LOT of homemade soup. I make it from scratch starting with the bone broth and then adding the rest as I go. It tends to have a lot of noodles as fillers too though. Otherwise, meat and veggies for dinner.
Lastly, when scrutinizing my diet, I realized that about 6 months ago, I somehow got addicted to a homemade lemonade drink of organic lemon juice, water, and organic unrefined sugar.
I still have no symptoms of high blood sugar, my cycles are still regular, and I even got pregnant again, which is something I generally cannot do unless VLC (almost no carb). Then I miscarried AND got my second episode of gout. So, I decided to have my blood checked for A1C and uric acid. (I would have been surprised by high uric acid since I tend to be moderate with my protein intake too.) My uric acid was normal, but my A1C was 7%!!!!
I had long ago stopped testing my after meals blood sugar because for a long time, it was within “normal” levels, and I knew the warning signs for high levels. I got a new meter, and started testing a TON. I tested first thing in the morning and 1-2 hours after every meal. At first, my average was between 170 and 200 (this was on June 1st ’12. That prompted me to cut ALL carbs and sugar from my diet, and as the month has progressed, my average levels have slowly fallen – or perhaps quickly depending on perspective – to an average of 130 to 150 with odd days like today where it hovered around 170 for no real reason.
I will give one day’s readings so that you can see that I am not spiking after meals and am having reduced numbers after meals.
6-13-12 First reading after waking up – 138 at 10:35am. Ate cottage cheese with sunflower seeds and had cup of black tea with cream. (NO sugar, just cream.) Ran errands and couldn’t test until 3:05pm. 146. Ate hotdogs w/o bun but with dab organic ketchup and mustard. Drank another cup of tea with cream. Tested at 8:17pm 111. (I actually think this was probably a mis-reading.) Immediately had a snack of organic sugar free peanut butter on lettuce and tested at 9:41pm. 143. (I want to see how different foods make my blood sugar react.) This shows how my glucose levels actually stay within a few points of each reading throughout the day, except for the abnormally low (for me right now) reading when I had gone a little over 5 hours without food. (It seems to be easier for me to remember to test right before I eat than after, BUT I do test as often as possible to get a good range of numbers.)
A different day, when the numbers were all higher. Woke up and tested at 9:39am, 152. Ate an utterly no carb breakfast of hotdogs. (We were at my MIL’s and that was pretty much all she had!) 178 at 1:07pm, No idea why!. Decided to have tea with cream. 133 at 2:44pm. Went home and deep fried a whole chicken in tallow (that I rendered myself). Ate around 4:30, tested at 5:39, 135. Around 9, decided to eat a basic salad (no croutons! A sprinkling of sunflower seeds instead) with homemade red wine vinegar and organic olive oil vinaigrette. (No sugar in it.) Tested at 10:16, 156. Had nothing, tested at 12:19, 130. Next morning, woke up at 150, shrugs.
More importantly, I feel fine. My gout cleared up once my average fell below 170 (remember it was between 170 and 200 when my gout flared up), and I see it going down a point or two on average each day. My blood pressure is normal, and blood tests show no other abnormalities. I know I already am diabetic, but since you stress that it’s the post meal numbers that are the most important. For the past 19 days, my 1-2 hour post meal numbers have consistently been between 5-10 points higher, so no spiking. Wouldn’t – if high numbers really do so much damage – wouldn’t there be SOME indication of it? I’m not trying to get out of being low carb, I really like it, but if my numbers really are bad, then why don’t I feel bad? Why don’t I have some sort of symptoms?
Curious,
Roxanne
http://www.5degreesofweirdness.blogspot.com