Blood sugar

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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


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 ...





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Breastfeeding protects women from metabolic syndrome, a diabetes and heart disease predictor

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 03, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Breastfeeding a child may lower a woman’s risk of developing Metabolic Syndrome, a condition linked to heart disease and diabetes in women, according to a Kaiser Permanente study that was published today online ahead of print ...


New safety concern related to antipsychotic treatment

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Overall, antipsychotic medications are reasonably effective, and fairly well tolerated treatments for mood and psychotic disorders. However, treatment with a number of antipsychotic medications is associated with weight ...


Glucose intolerance in pregnancy associated with postpartum cardiovascular risk

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 01, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Women who have gestational glucose intolerance (a condition less severe than gestational diabetes) exhibit multiple cardiovascular risk factors as early as three months after birth, according to a new study accepted for publication ...


Brain Scan Study Shows Cocaine Abusers Can Control Cravings

Brain Scan Study Shows Cocaine Abusers Can Control Cravings

Medicine & Health / Research

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- When asked to inhibit their response to a "cocaine-cues" video, active cocaine abusers were, on average, able to suppress activity in brain regions linked to drug craving, according to a new ...



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