Blood Sugar Monitoring

What is normal when it comes to blood sugar? I learned a great deal about "normal" blood work values when I took a course from Chris Kresser years ago. Basically, "normal" values in bloodwork are taken from a big group of not necessary healthy people but people who have to have blood work done. Averages are taken and "normal" is established from a bunch of sick people. Another Doctor friend of mine says there are A ranges, B ranges, and C ranges that all fall into the "normal" category.

I have been monitoring my blood glucose levels after my Blood Glucose Screening test (done during the Third Trimester to monitor for Gestational Diabetes) was a little high (138) but still in normal range. I would also like to point out that Blood Glucose Screening Tests and Glucose Tolerance Tests are a little ridiculous because no normal human is ever going to go consume 50-100g of straight glucose.

Dr. Kresser also points out that he does not care for these types of tests because they are not realistic. Read his articles on "normal" blood sugar here: ​https://chriskresser.com/when-your-normal-blood-sugar-isnt-normal-part-1/ and ​https://kresserinstitute.com/normal-blood-sugar-isnt-normal-part-2/

I went in search of more information after monitoring my fasting blood glucose and pre- and post- prandial glucose (before and after meals) all week and finding I run under 100mg/dL  all the time.  I was thinking that something was wrong because it was always "so low." This is actually healthy!!!

I did two of my own Glucose Challenge Tests this weekend at home. Here is what I did and my blood glucose values:

• Day 1 - eating real food and trying to get around 75g sugar
  • Fasting Blood Glucose 72 mg/dL
  • 5 minutes to consume 4 GF Blueberry Muffins (800 calories) 60g sugar, 1 Noosa Salted Caramel Yogurt (140 calories) 17g sugar - total of 77g sugar
  • 1 hour later Blood Glucose 101 mg/dL
  • 2 hours later Blood Glucose 107 mg/dL
  • 3 hours later Blood Glucose 104 mg/dL
• Day 2 - drinking something more closely resembles the clinical OGTT
  • Fasting Blood Glucose 74 mg/dL
  • 5 minutes to drink 36oz orange juice (500 calories) 100g sugar
  • 1 hour later Blood Glucose 99, 112 mg/dL
  • 2 hours later Blood Glucose 99, 97 mg/dL
  • 3 hours later Blood Glucose 64, 62 mg/dL - at this point I wasn't feeling very good, mildly nauseated, and tired.

This was meant to mimic a Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) but utilize real food. Granted I would never rapid fire eat 4 full size muffins or drink 36oz orange juice in 5 minutes but those are the foods I have around (I actually had to buy orange juice for the test). The Day 2 values that have two readings was me making sure my monitor was getting good readings; there is acceptable standard deviations based on the equipment you choose. I also tried pricking different fingers to see if I would get significantly different readings. During both tests I only drank water.

I used an over-the-counter TrueMetrix Glucose tester that cost about $40 with test strips, lancets, and alcohol wipes. It does not have the best reviews but was recommended by the Pharmacist.

One of the biggest things that has been confirmed with my monitoring of my Blood Glucose is that when I am feeling nauseous it is because my blood sugar is low.

I have also been logging all my food with calorie and sugar values. I am pretty consistently getting 2100-2300 calories and right around 75g of sugar per day; besides the two days I did the Glucose Challenge Test at home.

Another Post and Podcast coming soon about Blood Glucose Monitoring 101. What do you want to know more about?