Monitoring your glucose level is an important part of your diabetes treatment. Your glucose levels show if your treatment plan, including diet, exercise, lifestyle choices and medication, is working. Uncontrolled glucose levels -- whether too low or too high -- can lead to serious health consequences, which include blindness, nerve damage and organ failure.
Always consult your physician if you have chronic hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia.
Normal Glucose Ranges
If you have type 2 diabetes, your glucose level before you eat should be between 70 and 130 mg/dL. After eating, it's normal for glucose levels to rise; but according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, your glucose level should fall below 180 mg/dL within two hours after eating. However, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists recommends that your glucose level fall below 140 mg/dL two hours after a meal. According to Diabetic Living Magazine, "managing postmeal blood glucose can help reduce your risk of developing heart and circulation problems."
High Glucose Levels After Eating
There are many reasons for high glucose levels after eating. You may have eaten too many carbohydrates or too much sugar or you may have simply overeaten -- eating too much food, even if it's healthy food, can keep your glucose levels elevated. If you missed your insulin or other diabetes medication, or took it late, you will have high blood sugar. Your body responds well to a schedule -- if you skipped a workout, have changed your routine, or ate earlier or later than usual, you may experience high glucose levels.
Other Factors
Sometimes you can experience high glucose levels even though you were right on track with your diet, exercise and medication. Stress and emotional trauma can cause elevated blood sugar, as can dehydration, illness or infection -- even something as simple as a sunburn can place an added burden on your body and increase your glucose level. You may need to treat the underlying cause of your hyperglycemia before your blood sugars will return to normal.
Lowering Your Glucose Level
The fastest way to lower your blood sugar level is with additional insulin. If you don't take insulin, 20 minutes of exercise should help reduce glucose levels. Before you exercise you'll need to check your urine for ketones -- a by-product of your body burning fat instead of glucose for energy. If your blood sugar level is higher than 240 mg/dL and there are ketones present, do not exercise. Prevent high glucose levels after eating by watching your carbohydrate intake and choosing carbohydrates low on the glycemic index. The glycemic index measures how quickly a food can raise glucose levels. The lower a food scores on the GI, the less impact it has on your blood sugar.
