What blood sugar levels?

[velofan]

I'm aware of the target blood levels both before, and 2 hours after eating*. Is there a target maximum absolute level, ie one which one tries not to exceed even immediately after eating? (Not sure if this is the right area, but being prediabetic, it's levels appropriate for non and pre-diabetics I'm most interested in at present, Happy to be redirected!).

*At least there appears to be a postprandial level after an OGTT, but is there anything for what it should be after ordinary meals?

 

[Paul_]

For target ranges used in diagnosis, this article has a table for those under the "Blood sugar levels in diagnosing diabetes" heading:

Normal and Diabetic Blood Sugar Level Ranges

Normal blood sugar ranges and blood sugar ranges for adults and children with type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and blood sugar ranges to determine diabetes.

www.diabetes.co.uk

In terms of ranges during the two hour window, I don't believe there are any targets. However, as a prediabetic, your insulin resistance means you're more susceptible to glucose remaining in your blood stream rather than being absorbed by tissues following digestion.

Various research seems to suggest that blood glucose levels over 8mmol can cause damage to organs, nerves and tissues, which is why the article above shows 7.8mmol or below as normal for non-diabetics. Non-diabetics commonly exceed this level when eating high carb foods, but the difference is that non-diabetics can naturally reduce that blood glucose level as their insulin resistance is lower, thereby meaning they don't spend much time above 8mmol for damage to be caused. General advice for diet management of prediabetes and T2 diabetes is to maximise time in range, i.e. the time spent at 7.8mmol or lower.

 

[In Response]

I'm aware of the target blood levels both before, and 2 hours after eating*. Is there a target maximum absolute level, ie one which one tries not to exceed even immediately after eating? (Not sure if this is the right area, but being prediabetic, it's levels appropriate for non and pre-diabetics I'm most interested in at present, Happy to be redirected!).

*At least there appears to be a postprandial level after an OGTT, but is there anything for what it should be after ordinary meals?

Given the only way of detecting the highest point of your BG is via a CGM which is not very accurate at higher levels, I am not sure the value of this question. It also depends upon how long your BG stays that high. Personally, I would be more concerned about my BG staying at 8mmol/l for 3 of 4 hours rather than 15 minutes at 12mmol/l.
You could get some ideas of "normal" by looking at Libre graphs from people without diabetes - there are quite a few hobbyist examples that Google can help you find.

 

[velofan]

Thanks for that both, and apologies for delay in acknowledging. It may well be that the question is of no value: I'm exploring what my body is doing and not doing, and I take the point you make about 8 for 3-4 hours rather than a brief peak at 12. Actually, I seem to get a bit of both: if the peak is over 10 (tends only to be if I deliberately eat something carby to test), then it usually comes down reasonably rapidly, normally back below 7.8 inside 1-2 hours. However, if it's lower, the rise to that peak seems to take longer: for instance this morning post-breakfast rose steadily from baseline 5.6 to just over 8 2 hours afterwards, before dropping back to c.6 (which seems to be my normal daytime level) at just after 2.5hours. This is being sedentary - not the same if I go for a walk etc after meal, as one would expect.