learn your stock glucose ( sugar ) levels at least once a daytime — many people do it first thing in the morning — should be part of your overall programme for managing type 2 diabetes . you may use results to better resolve what you do next , and how to keep your blood sugar level where you and your doctor want them .
But if you ’re only testing your glucose levels once a day , you ’re likely miss the full picture . " Postprandial glucose ( PPG ) stage — meaning ‘ sugar after the meal ’ — give you and your care team more important information about how the consistence is able to wangle glucose after a repast , " explains endocrinologistPratima Kumar , MD , an assistant prof of endocrinology at the University of Texas at Austin . “ It informs us if the blood glucose has rejoin to normal after the meal intake . ”
TheAmerican Diabetes Associationrecommends checking fast ( before eating)blood sugarlevels , and then test PPG levels one to two hours after a repast . This is especially important if target A1C end are n’t being met ; this blood line trial helps shows how well your overall diabetes direction plan is working .
You might also need to check your blood glucose numbers at other clock time during the solar day , or after sealed natural action .
What Else You Should Know About Postprandial Glucose
“ Glucose levels begin to rise about 10 minutes after the start of a repast and height two hours after a repast , ” Dr. Kumar says . “ The glucose tier [ then ] reelect to pre - meal level within two to three hour . ”
But PPG numbers do n’t just exchange found on what you eat . They ’re also affected by how combat-ready you are , your insulin sensitiveness , and how apace food moves through your stomach , say Kumar . The ADA recommend that hoi polloi with type 2 diabetes keep their PPG under 180 mg / dL.
How Knowing Your PPG Can Give You Control Over Your Diabetes
Information on PPG can help you troubleshoot in important way . Whenblood cabbage spikes after meals , and stay high-pitched , it can be heavy to get levels back down to where you require them , according to theAmerican Association of Clinical Endocrinologists(AACE ) . If your A1C continues to be high than your target end , your risk for developing knottiness rises .
“ By measuring PPG , we can determine whether dietary modification or pre - meal bolus insulin is needed to bring down these spindle , ” Kumar says . “ In affected role who achieve their pre - meal glucose targets but whose A1C remain above objective , PPG monitoring and therapy is urge . ”
Learning how to count carbohydrates can avail you achieve your goals for blood sugar levels after eating .
“ carbohydrate lend significantly more to PPG than avoirdupois and protein content of a meal , ” Kumar says . check PPG regularly can help you figure out the dear equipoise of carbohydrate , fats , and proteins .
If you ’re using insulin , lecture to your Doctor of the Church about what to do if your PPG tier are higher or low-spirited than your goal , the AACE says .
Who Should Check PPG?
How often you should test PPG is based on you specifically , and on your finish for controlling your blood sugar . You should shape with your guardianship squad to identify your testing regime and objective end . The ADA does urge that sure people prove PPG and rakehell sugar levels more often , including :
“ Blood glucose story deviate at dissimilar time throughout the day over a menses of calendar week , ” Kumar pronounce . “ Thus , it ’s crucial to see your blood line glucose at regular interval to cater accurate info to your Dr. . ”
How to Test PPG
rake moolah examination seems simple enough , but there are a few tips that will ensure you get the most accurate numbers :
Additional reportage by Andrea Peirce
Rosalyn Carson - DeWitt , MD combines an undergraduate English level from Kalamazoo College and a medical degree from Michigan State University in her work as a aesculapian writer , editor , and consultant . Dr. Carson - DeWitt serve as editor program in chief for two multivolume Macmillan encyclopedias : The Encyclopedia of Drugs , Alcohol , and Addictive Behavior and Drugs , Alcohol , and Tobacco : Learning About Addictive Behavior ; she also collaborate on the 18th edition of the Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy . She has written thousands of article , in photographic print and online , for health tutelage supplier and consumer , let in Family Health International , Columbia University , the Mayo Clinic , and GlaxoSmithKline . She is committed to allow for accessible information for both medical professionals and consumers .
Madeline Vann , MPH , LPC , is a free-lance wellness and medical writer place in Williamsburg , Virginia . She has been write for over 15 yr and can salute complicated health matter at any reading level . Her writing has appear in HealthDay , the Huffington Post , Costco Connection , theNew Orleans Times - Picayune , theHuntsville Times , and numerous pedantic publications .
She received her bachelor ’s degree from Trinity University , and has a master of public wellness degree from Tulane University . Her area of sake let in diet , fitness , continuing and infectious disease , oral wellness , biotechnology , cancer , incontrovertible psychology , caregiving , end - of - life issues , and the overlap between environmental health and individual wellness .
outdoors of writing , Vann is a commissioned professional counselor and particularise in treating military and first respondent coping with grief , loss , injury , and dependency / convalescence . She is a trauma specialist at the Farley Center , where she provides workshops on trauma , heartbreak , and straiten tolerance coping accomplishment . She on a regular basis practices yoga , bonk to make , and ca n’t decide between a Mediterranean style diet and an Asiatic - fusion approach .
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