When to Measure Postmeal Glucose Levels

Of course that is determined by what you need to study from testing after meals. If you need to know the after-meal peak, then it is best to take a look at about an hour after you eat. The peak will differ a bit with completely different meals; fat decelerate gastric emptying, and liquids cross by way of quicker than solids. It can also differ with completely different individuals.

So if you would like to know the place your individual peaks are, it is best to take a look at each 15 minutes or so beginning about 45 minutes after consuming and persevering with till the numbers begin coming down.

If you need to know for those who’re ready to return to regular, or shut to regular, BG ranges inside just a few hours, then it is best to take a look at at 2 or three hours.

“After eating” can also be ambiguous. Should you take a look at X minutes after you begin to eat or after you cease consuming? Again, it is determined by your habits. If you wolf your meal down, it would not a lot matter. If you eat leisurely and take 30 minuts to end a meal, then it does. What you really need to know is variations between completely different meals, so the necessary factor is to take a look at about the identical method each time. Don’t evaluate one meal you ate in four minutes with one other one that you just took an hour to end. Most individuals measure the time after beginning to eat.

If you ask CDEs or your physician when to take a look at, they will normally inform you to take a look at at 2 hours. This is as a result of most analysis papers about postprandial (after meal) BG numbers use the 2-hour studying. But this might not be the perfect.

One researcher, Antonio Ceriello, lately revealed a paper proposing that it is time to change to a one-hour postprandial measurement. He kindly despatched me a replica of the total textual content of the paper.

Ceriello says that there is proof that the one-hour measurement has even stronger energy than the two-hour measurement for figuring out impaired glucose tolerance. He stated this quantity can also be associated to the chance for cardiovascular issues. In vitro experiments have proven that only one hour of excessive BG ranges is sufficient to trigger endothelial dysfunction that may then lead to coronary vascular illness, in addition to reactive oxygen species (sturdy oxidants), he stated.

Endothelial operate is worse at one hour than at two hours each throughout oral glucose tolerance assessments and after meals, he stated.

If all this is not sufficient, Ceriello stated short-term excessive BG ranges can impair beta-cell operate.

When I’ve measured BG ranges in nondiabetic mates and family members, I’ve generally discovered one-hour readings of 160 or so, however the numbers come down to baseline by two hours. Testing solely at two hours would not establish these individuals, who may be vulnerable to creating diabetes sooner or later.

Ceriello’s suggestions apply to medical research, however there is not any motive you could not measure at one hour for those who so selected. The finest, after all, could be to measure at each one hour and two hours for those who may afford sufficient strips. Then you’d know which period made most sense for you.

Even if most clinicians settle for Ceriello’s suggestions, it is going to take time earlier than they turn into commonplace. So for now most research will proceed to use the two-hour numbers. But when  you see a research mentioning postprandial (or postmeal) numbers sooner or later, it is best to verify to see what they imply, for those who can (abstracts might not specify).

If anybody desires references to the research Ceriello was citing, let me know and I will ship them to you. If I get tons of requests, I will simply edit this put up to put the hyperlinks in.