Hispanic Latino Health

Hola Amigos,

Let’s talk about the highs and lows of blood glucose or sugar.  There are two important words to know which are associated with diabetes.  These terms are hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia.

First, we will explore hyperglycemia.  This term is used to describe an abnormally high blood glucose level.  This can further be divided into fasting and postprandial high blood glucose.  For instance, fasting hyperglycemia occurs when there is a high blood glucose level although a person has not had any food for about eight hours.  Postprandial hyperglycemia occurs when a person has a high blood sugar level after an hour or two of eating a meal (National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse [NDIC], 2009).

Now, we can take a look at hypoglycemia.  This term is used to describe an abnormally low blood glucose or sugar level (NDIC, 2009).

So is there a term that describes the just right blood glucose level? The answer is yes! Euglycemia means a normal blood sugar level (NDIC, 2009).

References

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse.  (2009).  Diabetes dictionary.  Retrieved from http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/dictionary/index.htm