Testing your blood sugar (glucose) level at home is an important part of a preventive routine for those who have diabetes. When you have a spike in glucose, you can look at what you have eaten recently and adjust your next food choice, medication, insulin dosage, or physical activity accordingly.

The goal is to keep the blood glucose levels near the normal range of 80 to 120 mg/dl before meals and under 140 mg/dl at two hours after eating.

Blood glucose levels are usually tested at home by pricking a fingertip with a lancing device and applying a drop of blood to a glucose meter, which reads the value. Some folks test before and after meals and at bedtime. Some meters currently on the market are: Accu-Check Advantage, Freestyle, One Touch Ultra, and Sure Step. Some devices give readings faster than others; some require less blood to sample; some have a larger screen to make reading easier for the visually impaired.

You can’t depend entirely upon these meters to accurately reflect the blood sugar level because the values can fluctuate. That’s why your doctor uses a hemoglobin A1c test to get an idea of the overall effectiveness of blood glucose control over a three-month period of time.

For more information about blood glucose management, and the Hemoglobin A1c test, read my book Keep the Legs You Stand On to be released soon by Nightengale Press. (www.nightengalepress.com]

-drhinkes