Blood sugar levels: what they mean

The blood sugar values indicate the sugar content of the blood. It changes throughout the day, depending on food intake. After eating, the blood sugar levels rise and are the lowest in the morning after getting up. In some diseases, the regulation of blood sugar levels is disturbed. Read all important information about blood glucose levels.

Blood Sugar

What are blood glucose levels?

Blood sugar ensures the energy supply of the cells. The carbohydrates are taken in with food reach the intestine, where they are broken down into smaller sugar molecules and absorbed into the blood. A hormone produced by the pancreas, insulin, causes the sugar in the blood to be absorbed into the cells. He is the most important source of energy for the cells, in a sense their "fuel.

People whose pancreas does not produce enough insulin to suffer from diabetes (diabetes mellitus). Your blood sugar level is usually too high. This can permanently damage the blood vessels and organs. At the same time, there is a lack of energy in the cells, because the sugar can not be channeled into the cells.

When do you determine blood glucose levels?

The blood sugar value is determined with different questions:

• To diagnose diabetes (diabetes mellitus)
• To control the blood sugar level in known diabetes mellitus
• To control and adjust the therapy in diabetics
• Annually for people who are at higher risk for diabetes
• For symptoms that indicate diabetes (weight loss, thirst, frequent urination, performance kink)
• In pregnant women and newborns
• Suspected hypoglycemia or excess sugar
• In unconsciousness without an explainable cause
• In the case of malnutrition or malnutrition
• In known disorders of carbohydrate metabolism (e.g., by enzyme deficiency)

How are the blood glucose levels determined?

The blood sugar value is usually determined in the morning before the patient has eaten something (fasting blood sugar). A drop of blood is obtained by a stab in the finger or earlobe and applied to a small stick. The stick, in turn, is placed in a blood glucose meter. After about half a minute, the device then displays the sugar level in the blood. The blood sugar value can also be determined as part of a normal blood sample.

The blood glucose value is given in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or millimoles per liter (mmol / l). Normally, fasting blood glucose levels in the blood plasma are less than 100 mg / dL (5.6 mmol / L) and increase to a maximum of 130 mg / dL (7.2 mmol / L) after eating. In newborns, fasting blood glucose levels are about half lower in the first few days of life.

If diabetes is suspected, a blood glucose test is performed three to six times daily as part of a blood sugar daily profile. Several times measured normal blood sugar levels speak against diabetes mellitus. Clearly elevated levels indicate diabetes. Then there are still people who are not yet suffering from diabetes, but already have abnormal levels of sugar. Sugar metabolism is already disturbed with them.

Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (oGTT)

In an oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT), the patient drinks a well-defined amount of a sugar solution on an empty stomach. After one and two hours it is measured how high the blood sugar value has increased and how quickly it drops again. The oGTT is performed, for example, in cases of suspected diabetes mellitus, kidney failure or pregnancy to exclude gestational diabetes.

When are the blood glucose levels too low?

The blood glucose levels are too low in the following cases:

• Overdose of insulin during diabetes therapy
• Overproduction of insulin in pancreatic tumors (e.g., insulinoma)
• Disorders of the hormone balance due to hypofunction of the pituitary gland, the thyroid gland or the adrenal cortex
• After excessive physical work without adequate food intake
• Malnutrition, for example in alcoholics, after excessive fasting or refusal of food (anorexia nervosa)
• Severe liver damage, for example, liver cirrhosis
• After drinking alcohol on an empty stomach

Decreased blood sugar initially leads to hunger, dizziness, tiredness, and sweating. If no sugar is added, it can cause seizures and circulatory collapse to the point of shock or death.

People with diabetes for a long time often have little or no typical symptoms of hypoglycemia and therefore can not take countermeasures in time. You must therefore regularly check their blood sugar levels, especially if they are increasingly physically active (such as in sports).