In the next test, many elderly people with diabetes do not know to monitor postprandial blood sugar. They think the value measured on an empty stomach is sufficient.
So, if you only measure fasting blood sugar and forget to measure postprandial blood sugar, what will be the result?
Tang Xiaonuo tells you responsibly: There will be no results - in the short term, it will not affect appetite, there will be no complications, and there will be no back pain, but in the long run, whatever should happen will happen, and what shouldn't happen will happen. will happen.
Why should you monitor postprandial blood sugar?
1. Postprandial blood sugar is the main factor affecting macrovascular complications.
The higher the blood sugar after a meal, the easier it is to cause thrombosis, and the higher the chance of angina, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke. And it is closely related to complications such as retinopathy and chronic kidney disease.
Currently, the most important complication that causes death, disability, and high costs for diabetic patients is macrovascular disease, namely the above-mentioned coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, etc.
2. Postprandial blood sugar can reflect whether the diet and medication are reasonable
Chinese people like to eat staple foods, such as rice and pasta. A high proportion of carbohydrates, especially foods with a high glycemic index, will significantly increase blood sugar after meals. Chinese people generally have their daily blood sugar peak after a meal.
Therefore, many people take drugs to control blood sugar after meals. Monitoring post-meal blood sugar can determine whether the diet and medications are reasonable;
3. Postprandial blood sugar can "sweep out" many hidden diabetics.
Many people say that blood sugar is high after meals first, and then fasting blood sugar is high. If you only measure fasting blood sugar, you will miss many people in the early stages of diabetes. If you can detect postprandial highs in advance and take timely intervention measures, you can easily control your blood sugar.
What is postprandial blood sugar
Postprandial blood sugar generally refers to blood sugar 2 hours after a meal, which refers to the blood sugar value measured from the first bite of meal to 2 hours after blood collection, rather than starting after the meal.
In healthy people, blood sugar can reach a peak 0.5 to 1 hour after a meal, and fall back to close to the pre-meal level after 2 hours. The increase in blood sugar rarely exceeds 2.2 to 3.3 mmol/L.
There are many factors that affect postprandial blood sugar, including the quality and quantity of the diet, gastrointestinal absorption function, exercise factors, pre-meal medication, and the reserve function of the own pancreatic islet β cells (especially the first-phase insulin secretion).
At what level should blood sugar be controlled after a meal?
People with type 2 diabetes should control their postprandial blood sugar within 10mmol/L; for newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients with a short course of disease, younger age, and no diabetic complications or serious associated diseases, the corresponding target for glycated hemoglobin is ≤6.5 %, and the postprandial blood glucose control target is ≤7.8mmol/L.
Postprandial blood sugar for gestational diabetes should be controlled within 6.7mmo/L;
People with type 1 diabetes should control their postprandial blood sugar at:
Contribution of postprandial blood glucose to glycated hemoglobin
The increase in blood sugar after a meal is the main cause of the increase in glycated hemoglobin. The closer the glycosylated hemoglobin is to the normal value, the greater the contribution of postprandial blood sugar.
Glycated hemoglobin is less than 7.3%, and postprandial blood sugar contribution accounts for 70%;
When glycated hemoglobin is 7.3%-9.2%, postprandial blood sugar contributes 50%;
When glycated hemoglobin is greater than 9.3%, postprandial blood sugar contribution accounts for 40%.
The relationship between fasting blood glucose and postprandial blood glucose
Fasting blood sugar and postprandial blood sugar are equivalent to the "two generals" of glycated hemoglobin. During a day, the body is in a fasting state for about 1/3 of the time, and the remaining 2/3 of the time is in a postprandial state.
Fasting blood sugar is also called basal blood sugar, which is equivalent to the water in a river. Postprandial blood sugar is like a boat sailing on the water. If fasting blood sugar is high, it will also rise after a meal as "the rising tide lifts the boat";
Therefore, if fasting blood sugar can be lowered to normal levels first, postprandial blood sugar will be easier to control and the water will be lowered; if fasting blood sugar is very high, postprandial blood sugar will be more difficult to reach.
Only by controlling both fasting and postprandial blood sugar can HbA1c be controlled to the target (<6.5%).
8 ways to control blood sugar after meals
1. Control fasting blood sugar first: if fasting blood sugar is higher than 7, you should start from these 3 points
2. Add some miscellaneous grains to the staple food
3. Change the order of eating: drink soup first, then vegetables, then vegetables + rice, and finally hard vegetables (meat) + rice.
4. Eat more vegetables
5. Enrich your diet, eat more varieties, and eat less of each type
6. Eat slowly
7. Go out for exercise 1 hour after meals
8. Take drugs to lower postprandial blood sugar
