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The Highs and Lows of Blood Glucose
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
Let’s Talk About Diabetes
Hola Amigos!
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease. It may also be referred to as simply diabetes. Some people may call this condition, “sugar diabetes” or “high blood sugar.” This condition primarily shows itself as hyperglycemia or high blood glucose level. The usual cause of diabetes is an abnormal regulation of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps to manage glucose in the blood (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2010a).
Diabetes may be classified in several ways. These classifications mainly include Type I or 1 diabetes, Type II or 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes. In addition diabetes may be classified by a specific condition that has caused a high blood glucose state. However, Type 2 diabetes is the most common (CDC, 2010). Check out the video below about diabetes (CDC, 2010b).
Here are some sites to visit for more information on the Web about diabetes:
American Diabetes Association (ADA): http://www.diabetes.org/
National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP): http://ndep.nih.gov/
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC): http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010a). Basics about diabetes. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/consumer/learn.htm
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010b, June 11). Blood sugar and fears [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_G7MkEPQkE
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