Comments on: What Is Normal Blood Sugar?

By: Steve Parker, M.D.

Steve Parker, M.D. — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:14:48 +0000

Hello, Becky.
I can’t give you any personal advice since I’m not your personal physician. But I do have a few comments.
You may be exhibiting the “dawn phenonmenon.” Here’s how it works. Insulin helps to keep blood sugar levels from rising too high. Everybody’s llver helps to deactivate insulin. For mostly mysterious reasons, some livers work more effectively to deactivate insulin in the early morning hours. Deactivation of insulin would allow blood sugars to rise, particularly fasting (early AM) levels. Eating breakfast then “wakes up” the pancreas so it produces more insulin. How to lower fasting glucoses under 100 mg/dl? An exercise program can help. Also eating relatively fewer carbs with the evening meal might help, moving those to earlier in the day, say lunchtime. There are a few other tricks, too.
The dawn phenomenon effect may last till mid- or late-morning for some folks. I think that’s why Dr. Richard Bernstein recommends eating ony 6 g of digestible carb for breakfast, and 12 g for both lunch and dinner.
Hope that helps.

-Steve

By: Becky

Becky — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:14:14 +0000

This is some very helpful information, thank you! I also have PCOS, 33 yrs, and a type II Diabetic on Metformin 500 x 2/day. (I also take Prometrium 12 days out of the month) I am obese and have been taking losing weight very seriously. I have noticed a slight trend where my fasting was 121 (It has never been that high), and then two hours after breakfast it will be around 105. I was sure to retest each time to see if I had a faulty test, and they were correct. Have you had cases where diet and excercise have altered blood sugar like this? I’m use to having a fasting blood sugar of 85-100, and 2 hour post breakfast of around 115. I have a doctors appointment on the 15th, but I would appreciate any input or advice you could give. Thank you!

By: Steve Parker, M.D.

Steve Parker, M.D. — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:55:38 +0000

Hi Aglaee. Thanks for chiming in.

For legal and medical reasons, I can’t be specific about your situation since I don’t have the full picture and haven’t examined you. Be sure to work with your own personal physician.

Nevertheless, if those were my numbers, I would’t be too terribly concerned. I wouldn’t cut my carbs any further at this point. I might get a 75-gram oral glucose tolerance test (after three days of eating at least 100-150 g of digestible carbs daily). That would tell me if I were in the prediabetic or diabetic range (at which point I’d have more concern).

An exercise program with both aerobic and resistance training components may help reduce after-meal blood sugar levels.

Hope this is helpful.

-Steve

By: Aglaee

Aglaee — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 02:19:42 +0000

Thanks for your information. I have listened to you on Jimmy Moore’s podcasts and have also written about your work on livestrong.com. I am actually diagnosed with PCOS and although I am just slightly overweight, I discovered that my 2-hr post-meal blood glucose levels were at 124 mg/dL after a meal of fish, non-starchy vegetables, butter and 2 squares of 85% dark chocolate (for a total of less than 12 g of carbs) (fasting BG ranges between 76 to 88 mg/dL, except for last night when they went up to 115 mg/dL while suffering from insomnia around 4am). I am currently eating a very low-carb diet, with <50 g of available carbs a day and believe that my blood sugar levels should not go that high after eating. What kind of target would you aim for? I am still trying to lose weight and manage my PCOS. Should I restrict my carbs even more?

By: Steve Parker, M.D.

Steve Parker, M.D. — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:59:35 +0000

Hi, Karen.
It’s an extremely complicated situation. Be sure to get your own doctor’s opinion.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen published studies suggesting that the average diabetic may have a better overall outcome, at least in terms of longevity, with hemoglobin A1c’s in the range of 6.5 to 7%, not lower. If you successfully achieve your goal glucose levels, you’d be in the 5 to 6% range.
It’s difficult to be sure about this issue because of the multitude of issues involved, such as type 1 vs type 2 diabetes, underlying type of diet, co-existing illnesses, access to medical care, types on non-drug adjunctive medical care, exercise vs sedentary lifestyle, geographic location, which diabetic drugs are being used and for how long, etc. For instance, the ACCORD trial indicated higher death rates in diabetics with hemoglobin A1c under 7%. But ACCORD participants, at least some of them, were using rosiglitazone. Rosiglitazone was esssentially taken off the market in the U.S. a year ago because of excess cardiac deaths in users.

In the ideal scientific study, we alter ONE variable and see what happens. It’s often hard to do that in clinical studies on humans.

-Steve

By: Karen Norris

Karen Norris — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 23:32:08 +0000

I am almost 65 and from what I just read its not that important for me to have the tight tight control? I am almost anal in keeping my bs below 120 2hrpp and 140 1hrpp I am on a low carb of 50 or so carbs a day. Am I going overboard? Thanks Karen

By: barbara evans

barbara evans — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:51:15 +0000

my glucose tested 116 with fasting blood test is that normal i am 69?

By: Steve Parker, M.D.

Steve Parker, M.D. — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:00:12 +0000

BJ, I’ve not studied that issue. I personally limit my diet sodas to two daily, and many days I drink none. I tend to doubt there’s an unrecognized epidemic of illness caused by aspartame.

-Steve

By: BJ

BJ — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 12:05:09 +0000

I’ve read several articles and often mentioned is that Diet Sodas/Aspartame
can CAUSE lots of various diseases such as diabetes, rashes, etc. Have you done any research on this??? I do consume up to 5 cans a day and have been recently told I have diabetes. No one in my family has ever had it.