Are Currently Accepted Safe Blood Sugar Levels Set Too High?
Questions have been raised over recent years on the appropriateness of the currently accepted values for normal blood sugar levels – normal being those that occur in a healthy person who does not suffer from diabetes or any condition associated with above normal blood sugars. Later in this article, reference is made to a research study that concluded there are significantly increased risks associated with currently accepted normal blood sugar levels.
Why are blood sugar levels important to know?
Blood sugar levels in human beings are of interest because they can determine whether or not a person has diabetes and diabetes has become a major and fast growing health problem in America. Diabetes is a condition in which the body is unable to properly regulate blood sugar levels with the result that too much glucose circulates throughout the body.
In the United States, the acceptable normal levels of blood sugars are established and recommended by the major health authorities such as the National Institutes of Health and the American Diabetes Association. But the commonly accepted safe numbers are being contested in some quarters of the health care community.
First, to put you in the picture regarding diabetes in America – it’s a grim
The U.S. National Diabetes Fact Sheet, released in January of this year, 2011, states that there are an estimated 7 million Americans who are unaware that they have diabetes, a serious disease associated with other equally serious health complications. Perhaps even more alarming is the estimate that there are 79 million people with Prediabetes, a possible forerunner of diabetes proper.
Normal blood sugar levels
According to the American Diabetes Association, the normal blood sugar levels in the human body, when measured two hours or more after eating, should be no higher than 140 mg/dL. Blood sugars are also often measured in the morning, before breakfast, typically after a night’s sleep and about 8 hours after the previous meal, this is referred to as a “Fasting Blood Sugar level” for which the normal range is 70 to 100 mg/dL, again according to the American Diabetes Association.
The blood sugars are obtained from foods eaten, mainly the carbohydrate portions of the food items, which then are processing by the body’s digestive system,and the glucose passes into the bloodstream where it is a primary source of energy for cells of the body, including the cells of the brain, and is essential for life.
Dissenting views, voices of caution
A research study published in the American Journal of Medicine in 2008, apparently involving 47,000 individuals, concluded that blood glucose levels in the range of 95 to 99 mg/dL more than doubled a person’s risk of becoming diabetic and in addition, those blood sugar levels led to an increased incidence in cardiovascular disease and hypertension. That is an contrast with current medical guidelines regarding safe glucose levels up to 100mg/dL.
In an article titled Glucose: The Silent Killer, appearing in the January 2011 issue of the magazine Life Extension, William Faloon states that the dangers of even slightly elevated blood sugars are fatally misunderstood and that people today suffer and die from diabetic-like complications without knowing that their blood sugar (glucose) levels are too high!
In conclusion
While the dominant published guidelines are that normal fasting blood sugars should be in the range 70 to 100 mg/dL and the normal glucose levels for 2 hours after eating should be 140 mg/dL or less, it seems prudent, in the light of the above noted research to the contrary, that a more in depth consultation should be attempted with a doctor. That would be after a blood test and the results are in hand – whether every person’s doctor would be open to such questions of the accepted mainstream levels is a moot point, if not what can be done – if anything?
In any event, it would be of value to know what your blood sugar levels are, the best way to find out is from a clinical test that the doctor can requisition, it is a simple process taking just a few minutes and can, subject to the extent of the blood components assayed, provide other important health information for guidance.
The American Diabetes Association is currently in the midst of a “Stop Diabetes Campaign, knowing your glucose levels is a step in the right direction.
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