Everyone has paid great attention to fasting blood sugar, but there is not enough understanding of postprandial blood sugar. So, why should we test blood sugar 2 hours after a meal?
1. Prevent complications of diabetes.
Postprandial hyperglycemia is an independent risk factor for macrovascular disease. If postprandial blood sugar can be controlled well, cardiovascular events can be effectively prevented. Studies have shown that for every 1 mmol/L increase in blood sugar 2 hours after a meal, the threat of death is equivalent to a 7 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure in patients with hypertension.
Similarly, postprandial blood sugar is also related to the occurrence of diabetic microvascular complications. Studies have found that postprandial hyperglycemia increases the risk of retinopathy in diabetic patients and accelerates the development of retinopathy. Therefore, diabetic patients should strengthen post-meal blood sugar monitoring to prevent diabetic complications.
So what range should diabetics control their blood sugar? Blood sugar 2 hours after a meal is between 7.8 and 11.1 mmol/L, which is acceptable for elderly patients with diabetes or those with serious complications. However, for patients under middle age and those who are not seriously ill, mild hyperglycemia has a negative impact on blood pressure, Adverse cardiovascular effects. Therefore, it is necessary to control postprandial blood sugar at 7.8 mmol/L as much as possible, which will also help reduce the burden on pancreatic beta cells and protect the function of pancreatic beta cells.
2. Postprandial hyperglycemia and fasting blood glucose are found to be normal.
There are three types of high blood sugar in diabetic patients. The first is high fasting blood sugar but normal postprandial blood sugar; the second is normal fasting blood sugar but high postprandial blood sugar; and the third is high fasting blood sugar and postprandial blood sugar. If the physical examination only checks fasting blood sugar, the second and third conditions will not be discovered. Therefore, when everyone checks blood sugar during daily physical examination, they must check both fasting blood sugar and 2-hour postprandial blood sugar.
There are also some diabetic patients who only test fasting blood sugar. They believe that fasting blood sugar levels will not be affected by drugs and food. If fasting blood sugar is normal, their condition is under control. The fact is that many people have correct fasting blood sugar, but their blood sugar rises 2 hours after a meal. Therefore, diabetic patients must not miss checking their blood sugar 2 hours after a meal during daily blood sugar monitoring.
3. Reflect on whether eating and hypoglycemic drugs are appropriate
Blood sugar 2 hours after a meal can reflect the patient's blood sugar control after eating and taking medicine. If you eat high-calorie food, your blood sugar will be high 2 hours after a meal. If you take less oral medicine, your blood sugar will also be high 2 hours after a meal. Therefore, diabetic patients can adjust their eating and medication according to their blood sugar status 2 hours after a meal.
Precautions for testing blood sugar 2 hours after a meal
1 Timing starts from the first bite of rice
Many people are confused about the timing of blood sugar 2 hours after a meal. They don't understand why the timing should start from the first bite of the meal, rather than during the meal or after the meal? Jia Kebao, deputy chief physician of the Endocrinology Department of Beijing Xuanwu Hospital, said that in fact, timing starts from the first mouthful of rice, which is a standard, because different people have different eating times. Some people only take ten minutes to eat a meal, while others only take ten minutes to eat. People may take forty minutes. Therefore, for the sake of uniformity, patients are required to start timing from the first bite of rice.
2. Blood sugar measured 2 hours after a meal is accurate only after taking medicine normally.
Many people think that blood glucose testing measures blood sugar when they are not taking medicine or taking injections, while blood glucose testing measures their blood sugar level when they are not taking medicine. In fact, it is difficult for diabetic patients to control their blood sugar well if they do not take medicine. Normally, the purpose of measuring blood sugar after a meal is to detect whether the amount of medicine taken and the amount of food eaten are appropriate for disease control. Finally, the treatment plan is adjusted according to the blood glucose 2 hours after the meal.
