Related topics: diabetes , type 2 diabetes



Blood sugar

hide

Blood sugar concentration, or glucose level, refers to the amount of glucose present in the blood of a human or animal. Normally, in mammals the blood glucose level is maintained at a reference range between about 3.6 and 5.8 mM (mmol/l). It is tightly regulated as a part of metabolic homeostasis.

Mean normal blood glucose levels in humans are about 90 mg/100ml, equivalent to 5mM (mmol/l) (since the molecular weight of glucose, C6H12O6, is about 180 g/mol). The total amount of glucose normally in circulating human blood is therefore about 3.3 to 7g (assuming an ordinary adult blood volume of 5 litres, plausible for an average adult male). Glucose levels rise after meals for an hour or two by a few grams and are usually lowest in the morning, before the first meal of the day. Transported via the bloodstream from the intestines or liver to body cells, Glucose is the primary source of energy for body's cells, fats and oils (ie, lipids) being primarily a compact energy store.

Failure to maintain blood glucose in the normal range leads to conditions of persistently high (hyperglycemia) or low (hypoglycemia) blood sugar. Diabetes mellitus, characterized by persistent hyperglycemia from any of several causes, is the most prominent disease related to failure of blood sugar regulation.

For more information about Blood sugar, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with blood glucose

results timeline


Self-monitoring with blood glucose test strips inefficient use of health-care resources

Medicine & Health / Other

created Dec 21, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Routine self-monitoring of blood glucose levels by people with type 2 diabetes who are not taking insulin is an ineffective use of health resources as the modest benefits are outweighed by the significant cost of test strips, ...


Dessert on your mind? Your muscles may be getting the message

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Even the anticipation of sweets may cause our muscles to start taking up more blood sugar, say researchers reporting in the December issue of Cell Metabolism. That message is delivered via neurons in the brain's hypothalamus contai ...


Steroid injections may slow diabetes-related eye disease

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Injecting the corticosteroid triamcinolone into the eye may slow the progression of diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that can cause vision loss and blindness, according to a report in the December issue of ...


Strict blood sugar control in some diabetics does not lower heart attack, stroke risk

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Strictly controlling blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetics with coexisting health problems such as heart disease and hypertension does not lower their risk of a heart attack or stroke, according to a UC ...


Association of tight glycemic control with road crashes in diabetic patients

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A study from Canada published this week in PLoS Medicine suggests an association between tighter glycemic control and an increased risk of a motor vehicle crash in diabetic adults. Using a population-based case control analys ...