Do you know the importance of maintaining normal blood sugar levels?

First of all, do you know what having a normal blood sugar level is?
A normal blood sugar level is commonly defined as maintaining blood sugar levels at around: 3.5 - 8 mmol/L.

However, that is not the official definition of diabetes as the cutoff points of normal blood sugar levels to define diabetes is much more complex. You can get the official definition by searching World Health Organization's website or the National Diabetes Data Group. Maintaining normal blood sugar levels is of utmost importance because of the many complications associated with long term, poor blood sugar control, which occurs in many diabetic patients. The complications can be generally divided into macrovascular complications (big vessel problems) and microvascular complications (small vessel problems):

Macrovascular complications:

1. Heart disease
There is ample evidence that maintaining normal blood sugar levels in diabetics significantly lower the incidence of cardiac events, most commonly heart attacks. Besides that, heart attacks in diabetic people are more serious and fatal compared to the normal population. It is also important to note that people with diabetes are at twice the risk of having a form of heart disease, regardless of normal blood sugar levels.

2. Stroke
People with diabetes and more importantly, poorly controlled diabetes with long term higher than normal blood sugar levels, have higher risks of having a stroke.

3. Peripheral vascular disease
This mainly results in a myriad of problems, such as spontaneous clot formation in the legs, skin changes and discoloration (diabetic dermopathy), and poorly healing ulcers.

Microvascular complications:

1. Eye disease
Long term failure to maintain normal blood sugar levels associated with diabetes mellitus is the main cause of blindness in the United States. It is therefore very important for all diabetics to undergo yearly eye check up to ensure that their eyes are in good condition.

2. Nerve damage
Nerve damage is very unpleasant and sometimes dangerous. It results in the abnormal sensation of pins and needles in the hands and feet or loss of sensation in the peripheries. Nerve damage is the main culprit behind non-healing foot ulcers, or what is also known as a diabetic foot. Having long term poor care of the ulcers is the leading cause of non-traumatic lower extremity amputation.

3. Kidney disease
Diabetes is the leading cause of end stage renal disease (or commonly known as kidney failure, where the kidneys are no longer able to support life anymore) in the United States. Having kidney failure is a serious problem because you not only need regular, time-consuming dialysis (cleaning) of blood, but you are at increased risk of lots and lots of complications specific to having kidney failure.

Do you know what are your normal blood sugar levels? Are you at increased risk for having higher than normal blood sugar levels? If you are, I highly recommend that you get a blood sugar test done today. Up to 50% of people find out that they have higher than normal blood sugar levels too late when they present to the hospital with complications of diabetes. I hope you do not end up being one of those people and may you have a normal blood sugar level always.