an article that i thought was very interesting

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July: Before- and After-Meal Blood Sugar

Diabetes Control for Life. July 2007

Before- and After-Meal Blood Sugar

When You Eat Should Determine When You Test

Timing and testing go hand in hand. Diabetes educators find it helpful to break

the typical day into three testing periods: before meal, after meal, and

fasting.

To compare your different blood sugar levels during the day, you'll want to time

your tests correctly. Knowing your before-meal, after-meal, and fasting

blood sugar levels may help you:

List of 2 items

1. Recognize peak blood sugar levels

2. Detect and correct habits causing sharp changes - peaks and valleys in blood

sugar

list end

Here's how to determine the right windows of time to test fasting, before-meal,

and after-meal blood sugar:

Fasting

The fasting period is defined as a time with no food intake for at least eight

hours. Typically, you will only test fasting blood sugar levels first thing

in the morning or at scheduled times as advised by your health care provider.

Before Meal

The before-meal period is any time you test your blood sugar before you start to

eat a meal or snack. Before-meal blood sugar levels will be higher than

fasting levels because of the effect of carbohydrates from a prior meal or

snack. You may have heard your health care professional refer to this as

" preprandial. "

After Meal

The after-meal period lasts for two hours from the time you take your first

bite. You may have heard your health care professional refer to this as

" postprandial. "

The correct time frame to test after-meal blood sugar level is between one and

two hours after your first bite. If you test before one full hour passes,

your blood sugar may still be on the rise from the carbohydrates in the meal.

Your reading may not show the full impact of the carbs in your last meal.

If you wait longer than two hours after a meal, your reading may no longer show

the effect of that meal on blood sugar.

Depending on the details of your personal diabetes management plan, you'll find

it helpful to check before-meal and after-meal blood glucose levels occasionally

throughout the day. View the blood sugar demo to see the times you could test

based on an example meal plan.

TRY THE BLOOD SUGAR DEMO

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