Contrary to common belief, understanding the body’s sugar levels through a blood sugar level chart is not only for people who have diabetes. As the matter of fact, it can be as an early warning if the body will develop diabetes and in some instances be the key to preventing diabetes. However, even with blood sugar chart, maintaining a healthy blood sugar level can still be a difficult task for some, depending on how their body utilizes and responds to glucose.
In normal cases, blood sugar or glucose, which is the main means of transporting energy to all of the body’s cells, is maintained through insulin – which in turn, is the chemical that injects blood sugar to the various cells of the body. Whenever food that contains more than normal sugar level enters the body, extra insulin is produced to lower the blood stream’s sugar ratio so that it can accommodate the extra amount of sugar going in. Experts agree that this makes the body a little bit more hyperactive as the body cells receive a sudden boost of energy.
This ability to maintain the body’s sugar ratio diminishes when one develops diabetes – when, due to some reasons, the pancreas stops or reduces its insulin production. In these cases, having a blood sugar level chart gains a paramount importance as the body stops automatically using up “extra” sugar in the bloodstream. Too much blood sugar damages small blood vessels, the usual victim is the eyes since there are a lot of small blood vessels lining your eyes. Hence, keeping a blood sugar level chart is important to further prevent damages to blood vessels.
A normal person’s body sugar ratio normally ranges in between 4 to 8 mmol/l. This unit measures how much glucose is present per liter of blood plasma. As said, your body adjusts to the many factors affecting the blood sugar in the body. Hence, your levels may vary depending on how far you are from your meals or what your mood is. Your normal body sugar level before meals is anywhere between 4 to 7 mmol/l. 90 minutes after a meal as your body begins to intake digested food, it goes up to just below 10 mmol/l. Before and during your sleep, as your body prepares to rest, your body sugar stabilizes at 8 mmol/l.
Going below these levels are harmful too. This condition known as hypoglycemia can lead to coma or fainting. Mildly, this causes clumsiness. Severely, it can lead to death. If asleep, hypoglycemia can cause nightmares and feeling tired or confused after waking up. In normal people, whenever the body’s sugar level goes dangerously low, it triggers hunger, thus prompting the person to eat and have an early glucose intake. The body still responds and prevents this condition. However, there are instances when the body can’t especially when the person has a habit of skipping meals, the body would not have enough glucose stored in the liver and in the muscles, thus causing weakness or sleepiness.
In the end, maintaining good sugar levels in the body is important not only to maintain good health but in keeping the body in optimum shape and the mind in optimum attention.