Understanding High Blood Glucose
Your stomach and digestive system break down the food you eat into glucose, a type of sugar. All the body's cells use glucose for energy. Insulin is a hormone your body needs to use the glucose for fuel. Your body usually makes just the right amount of insulin to match the food you eat. The insulin acts like a key, letting glucose into the cells.
When the cells no longer respond well to insulin they are “insulin resistant” and glucose can't get into cells. So the cells don't get the fuel they need, and glucose builds up in the blood stream. High blood glucose can lead to pre-diabetes or diabetes.
Tell your doctor if diabetes runs in your family, or if you have frequent thirst, blurry vision, weakness, unexplained weight loss, or unusual hunger. These could be signs of high blood glucose. A simple blood test, called the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test, will tell you if your glucose levels are too high.
Here are the numbers:
Healthy blood glucose.........................FPG under 100
Pre-diabetes........................................FPG 100 - 125
Diabetes......................................FPG more than 125
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