I received a comment recently on the Blood Sugar 140 series that prompted this post. Actually, it prompted a post on the best predictor for T2 which will be forthcoming, but in fleshing out some background for that, I realized it was worth a post on its own. Below are links to previous post series I'm referring to:
- Blood Sugar 140: Where did the 140 mg/dL threshold come from?
- Blood Sugar 140: Context is Everything I - Diabetic vs. Non
- Blood Sugar 140: Context is Everything II: The OGTT
- Blood Sugar 140: Diabetic Neuropathy, Is it All About Hyperglycemia?
"Cliff Notes" Blood Sugar 140: There is a commonly repeated "fact" out there that blood glucose levels over 140 mg/dL lead to nerve damage (and organ damage) generally attributed to the process of glycation. Also implied in this is that such damage is cumulative such that any excursion over 140 is inflicting a little damage along the way. This traces back to the following page on Jenny Ruhl's website: Research Connecting Organ Damage with Blood Sugar Level:
The studies you will read below, some of which are not cited in the AACE guidelines, make a cogent case that post-meal blood sugars of 140 mg/dl (7.8 mmol/L) and higher and fasting blood sugars over 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L) cause permanent organ damage and cause diabetes to progress. {emphasis mine}
