What is a normal blood sugar level

Diabetes is diagnosed with a finger prick glucose test of over 11mmol/L (198dl/mg) or a HbA1c of over 48mmol/mol.

This is regardless of the type of diabetes and therefore diagnosis replies upon the symptom history and further blood tests.

One question many patients have is what is a normal blood sugar level and what should they be aiming for.

In this video we explain what blood sugar level you should be aiming for in the context of different forms of diabetes.

[mistymick]

Fantastic job. This video is a one stop shop to understanding glucose levels. I have recently been diagnosed as a pre diabetic. I now have a clear picture of the whole spectrum of diabetic conditions. Thanks

[MonikaProtivova]

Great video. I am not diabetic, but I had relatively high fasting glucose on my last checkup (6.0 mmol/l). I follow a very healthy diet exercise on average 2 hours daily, so I was really surprised and quite upset. So I decided to wear a CGM for few days to see what is really happening. It turns out it is a bit difficult for non-diabetic to understand what the optimal glucose levels should be and how the glucose charts should look like. So far, I have average glucose level of 5.4 mmol/l and the chart is very flat. In fact, my after food glucose is usually up to level of 6.2 mmol/l and back to 5.2-5.5 range within 30 minutes. I have bit more significant response to things like intense workout such as thai box sparring (up to 9.0 mmol/l), no response when weight lifting, and I also seem to be having higher glucose level when I am anxious (around 6.6 mmol/l). It is a shame there is so little information about blood glucose for healthy people, as I a see how it could help type 2 prevention significantly.

[adelabbas]

I found out I have T2 diabetic recently, and this video is excellent to put my mind in ease regarding the spikes I'm having daily when i take my meals. Thank you for the information and the simplicity of it .

[Daniel_Adam]

Wow, all the comments responded too. That's amazing sir, hats off to you, and a massive thank you. You're more helpful than the local GP who's looking at the clock and worrying about seeing the next patient.

[JacksonRogers-nijv]

Wish we have a doctor like you that is very active even in the social media giving true medical advice. And the most important is the way you deliver, communicate, socialize and deal with your patients and viewers. You give Hope to the people! God bless you Doctor!

[teams]

My latest A1C was 4.8. First time my doctor checked it at 63 years old.

[nckzmnv]

Thank you I have lived in the USA and the UK. I was thrilled to find that most doctors in the USA try to share as much information about your health concerns to educate you. Here in the UK...NHS. All you get if you are lucky is a diagnosis and you are on your own...unless you are fortunate enough to discover information like this.

[henryhong]

Fantastic explanation, that release the anxiety of person that wanted to find more about diabetes.

[michaelhussey]

Excellent presentation which gives lots of useful info and anticipates many questions which might be asked re blood glucose issues.

[mqtzxdr]

great video, very clear, thank you Mark

[evadeenbrickwood]

Great information and confirms my suspicion that I’m not really diabetic. Stress causes high blood glucose in me, incl. extreme temperature. I was treated for Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver and my blood glucose has been wobbly between 13 and 6 with my body re-adjusting. Metformin caused low readings before. Hope I can level this out.

[black_knight_]

This video was excellent. Everything very clearly explained. Thank you!

[lisacreason]

Perfect video… even though I had to convert everything. But extremely helpful 🎉 thank you

[stircspew]

Thank you very much for your valuable information

[jzilla]

Really enjoyed this one. My diabetes nurse never really explained what the hbac1 were

[webxjbobartdgr]

Excellent presentation and easy to follow and understand the whats and whys . Thank you.

[Happisoul]

Very well delivered thank you and really great at reassuring me about my glucose levels. Thank you so much, de mystifying some fear-based things I’ve seen already.😊

[maccoton]

Hi Mark, thank you for taking the time to create a very informative been told im pre-diabetic, ,,,for abt 4/5 yrs, ,,,I have made changes to my diet specially for over a yr now, ,,, not perfect, but still have the odd chocy and cake, oh and bread, ,,occasionally spuds but starting this year, i have been doing fasting, ,,, usually abt 20hrs, ,,try to eat sensibly maybe veg and meat, eggs and beans on toast, or maybe spaghetti, but trying to loose weight is so difficult, specially as i cant do running or walking to much, if i eat anything of the above can result in a few pounds over night, sometimes even a healthy salad can do it as well blows my brain box haha, , , , sorry for rambling but sure others are going through this as well and might help they are not on their own, recently ive been told i have elevated cholesterol levels and do to age and med history, been offered statins, but not heard good stuff about them, anyone who bothers to read this, ,,,Any ideas good or bad to report

[sdmains]

Thanks so much! I found this really helpful! Especially because I live in Canada and most videos I’ve found are American numbers.

[dalefrye]

I was totally confused by this video. My blood sugar goal is 100 -110. Took a bit of research to figure out that measurements in the US are in mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter) but elsewhere can be mmol/L (millimoles per liter). To convert multiple / divide by 18. Would be good to put a quick notice at the start of your videos about this.