fasting numbers

[Dobbs]

I have a question about early morning fasting numbers. Since beginning low-carbing lately I've been measuring mine. Over the past week I've had results like 6.1, 6.2, 6.5 etc, with one blip of 7.1 :roll: . Everything I've read suggests they should be lower, i.e. under 6. Jenny Ruhl in her book says lower still, under 5.5.
However, I've also been measuring my post-meal numbers an hour after eating and two hours after eating, and for the most part they are pretty good - the highest I had lately was 8.2 and generally they're lower than that. If it's the case that it's numbers above 7.8 that are dangerous and that you should work to avoid, why then (here comes the question finally...) are early morning fasting numbers in the 6s considered too high? With my low-carb approach the numbers only go up slightly (if at all) an hour or two after breakfast, and sometimes they actually go a bit lower.
So why the fuss about early morning fasting numbers between 6 and 7?

 

[totsy]

i wouldnt worry about fasting morning numbers being in the 6,s, that isnt too high at all

 

[Katharine]

There is a difference between the UK and USA criteria for "impaired fasting glucose" and this is why Jenny has stricter criteria.

 

[Dennis]

Hi Dobbs,

Further to other answers, I also wouldn't be too worried about an occasional post-meal reading in the 8s. As I understand it, the dangers are from BS levels that are consistently high, not from those where you may occasionally go high for an hour or two until things normalise again.

 

[Trinkwasser]

Put it this way, you are already achieving better numbers than most diabetics so I'd no longer be *worrying*

But I'd still be looking for ways to tweak them. Possibly playing with snacks at night, like a biscuit and cheese or a handful of nuts with red wine, might help you get the FBG down.

You've got the postmeal rises well under control, it's possible over time your FBG will come down anyway, working on your insulin resistance may also help.