Blood Sugar Level Count

Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. The disease often develops in stages, starting as or insulin resistance. People with prediabetes have (sugar), but it isn’t high enough to be classified as diabetes.

Diabetics tend to have too much glucose circulating in their blood, which, if left unregulated, can lead to blindness, heart attacks, stroke, nerve damage, amputations and even death. Unlike type 1 diabetes, people with can still make , but they develop insulin resistance. That means that the body doesn’t properly use the insulin hormone that the pancreas produces, which leads to it making more insulin.

Insulin helps the cells absorb glucose so that they can use it for energy. As the process of producing more and more insulin continues, the pancreas is unable to meet the demand as the blood glucose levels remains too high and type 2 diabetes occurs. In some instances, the cells that produce the insulin become severely impaired or destroyed and the diabetic requires insulin to help regulate blood glucose.

Blood Glucose 101

With medication and monitoring, diabetics attempt a delicate balancing act to keep their blood glucose within the normal range. If their , it can lead to injuries, coma and even death. The symptoms of low blood glucose happen quickly and can include symptoms such as shakiness, confusion, unconsciousness or dizziness. If their blood glucose is too high, then its more devastating effects usually occur over prolonged periods of time, but immediate symptoms include excessive thirst and frequent urination.

Below are the target blood glucose levels for diabetics:

Are you at risk?

According to the American Diabetes Association, 25.8 million Americans have diabetes. Of that number, there are 7 million people with the disease who are undiagnosed. In addition, there are a staggering 79 million people with prediabetes.

If this trend continues, by 2050, 1 in 3 Americans will have diabetes. One of the biggest contributing factors is the rise in obesity. If you have one or more of the following risk factors, talk to your doctor about testing and prevention:

Take control

If you suspect that you have diabetes,  to check your blood glucose and to test your , which will give you an idea of your blood glucose levels over the last three months.

“You also want to ask your doctor to check your cholesterol and blood pressure, as these risk factors many times cluster together, especially in overweight individuals,” said , an endocrinologist at .

If you have diabetes, check your blood regularly and consider enrolling in the .