Normal Fasting Blood Sugar Levels

Why testing fasting blood sugar levels?

Maybe some of you will ask this question when doing blood sugar test for the first time, why do we have to measure our fasting blood sugar levels?

So far, fasting blood sugar test (FBS) is still the best way to find out whether someone has problems with blood sugar or not.

What?

The next question is, what is a normal fasting blood sugar levels?

You can see the normal level on the blood sugar levels chart. However, the exact value is actually different according to the biggest health organization.

1. According to American Diabetes Association (ADA)

- 90-130 mg/dL is the range of normal fasting glucose levels.

- 100-125 mg/dL is the indication of pre-diabetes (also known as impaired fasting glucose).

2. World Health Organization (WHO).

- below 108 mg/dL is normal fasting

- 100-125 mg/dL indicates pre-diabetes.

However, many doctors thought that these values are too high and can stimulate the development of diabetes in the course of time.

So, they tend to recommend patients to maintain their fasting blood sugar levels below 90 or even 80 mg/dL.

There's no difference between normal fasting blood sugar levels for men and women. But for children, it is slightly differ from adults.

- For children under 5, it's 100 mg/dL

- For 5-11 years old children, it's around 70 mg/dL

- For 12 years and older, it's 70-80 mg/dL.

When is the best time measure fasting blood sugar levels?

The best time to take blood sample to measure fasting glucose levels is early in the morning, before you eat something. It is because the blood sample should be taken at least 8 hours of fasting (water allowed).

One thing you should put into consideration is that high blood sugar levels 2 hours after eating may be the sign that you should evaluate your diet, because high fasting blood glucose may be the sign of type-2 diabetes or pre-diabetes condition, which can lead to further serious complications.