Blood Sugar

Also called: Blood glucose

Blood sugar, or glucose, is the main sugar found in your blood. It comes from the food you eat, and is your body’s main source of energy. Your blood carries glucose to all of your body’s cells to use for energy.

Diabetes is a disease in which your blood sugar levels are too high. Over time, having too much glucose in your blood can cause serious problems. Even if you don’t have diabetes, sometimes you may have problems with blood sugar that is too low or too high. Keeping a regular schedule of eating, activity, and taking any medicines you need can help.

If you do have diabetes, it is very important to keep your blood sugar numbers in your target range. You may need to check your blood sugar several times each day. Your health care provider will also do a blood test called an A1C. It checks your average blood sugar level over the past three months. If your blood sugar is too high, you may need to take medicines and/or follow a special diet.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

• A1C test (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Blood sugar test – blood (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Continuous Glucose Monitoring – NIH (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) – PDF
• Glucose screening and tolerance tests during pregnancy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Glycemic index and diabetes (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Home blood sugar testing (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Know Your Blood Sugar Numbers: Use Them to Manage Your Diabetes – NIH – Easy-to-Read (National Diabetes Education Program)
• Managing your blood sugar (Medical Encyclopedia)

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