I have heard before that the upper limits of blood sugar guidelines tend to be a little too liberal for those who are serious about preventing diabetes.  I suspect that may be because they are intended for those who already have diabetes, where the limits may need to be stretched a bit.  I read the article that is linked at the bottom of this post and found it to be very enlightening, especially because I am still in the prevention stage and hoping to stay that way.

According to the article, more accurate blood sugar limits for preventing diabetes are less than 86 for fasting and less than 120 for postprandial readings.  These are quite a bit lower than the traditional 99 and 140 that are considered “normal.”

Something I always worry about is the accuracy of meters.  I know you can have it calibrated, but when comparing multiple “new” meters, I have had different results on each.  In the case of fasting blood sugar levels especially, a difference of five points can be pretty substantial.  If you were getting incorrect readings that were even five points lower than your actual blood sugar, you could be missing a problem that could have otherwise been corrected.  So make sure your meter is calibrated regularly.

Another interesting thing to note from this article is the statement that postprandial readings are more effective at determining future risk than fasting levels, which is the opposite of what we are typically told at the doctor’s.  For those of you who are trying to prevent diabetes, this means much more work because you will need to test multiple times per day instead of the easy first-thing test.

Following the advances in knowledge about diabetes is a fascinating, if not frustrating journey.  I hope we will soon learn enough to completely prevent this awful disease, but for now, it’s enough to do what we can by eating well and exercising.