over 140 cause cellular damage?

[homeschoolmom]

Like most if not all of you, since I discovered I had a problem with blood sugar, I've been doing a lot of research on the net. I know you can't believe everything you read, so I wondered what you thought on this topic. I have read that any time your blood sugar goes over 140, you are damaging your body. Is this true? Does it just mean if your sugar is over 140 at the 2 hour mark?? Some diabetics have told me that a lot of people's blood sugar will sky rocket right after they eat (non-diabetics also). I know it is pretty easy for mine to go past 140 at one hour. I tested my younger sister (who does not have a problem with blood sugar), and hers was 74 before she ate and 177 an hour after 2 pieces of pizza and a coke.

[Ronin]

Hi Homeschoolmom!

The missing word in this is "sustained." If a person has sustained BG levels over 140 there is a danger of tissue damage. To be classified as sustained, the BG levels must remain there for a long time, much longer than just an hour or so.

Be very careful because there are people who just love to use scare tactics to get diabetics on the "straight-and-narrow." Yes, sustained BG levels will do damage. Add in the fact that diabetics heal slower than non-diabetics and the damage can be permanent. As long as your BG levels return to "normal" levels in a reasonable amount of time you need not worry about tissue damage.

Your A1c numbers indicate that your body returns to an acceptable range consistently. Your test with your sister indicates that even non-diabetic people can spike if they eat sufficent amount of High GI carbohydrates in a short period of time. The thing is that their insulin kicks in and brings their BG back down. I don't know how large the slices were, nor the size of the coke (a lot of places consider a quart to be a normal serving -- just check out your local movie theater) considering that a serving of coke is only 8 oz (check the label) that is a load of glucose that is more than you had in your OGTT! I get a headache just thinking about that.

[BlueSky]

.... I have read that any time your blood sugar goes over 140, you are damaging your body. Is this true? .....
I have also seen that said in various websites on the net. The notion that BG levels above 140 cause damage is based on glucose tolerance test results, and the association with various complications. A short spike is probably ok, but when BG stays over 140 for any length of time, it seems to do a lot of damage. For details go to this link Research Connecting Organ Damage with Blood Sugar Level (http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/14045678.php) . It refers to various studies that indicate prolonged periods of BG being over 140 are not good.

The article also points out that in many cases fasting blood glucose levels are near normal, while GTT results go over 140. It highlights the fact that the FBG test is not adequate in identifying blood glucose problems. Your sister's level of 177 an hour after eating is high. Perhaps you should suggest that she has a glucose tolerance test done.

Below is a graph that shows normal levels during the course of the day. Note that breakfast was at 7:30am and blood glucose peaked, on average, at 125 about 45 minutes after eating.