• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Diabetes Strong

Healthy Life With Diabetes

  • Home
  • Diabetes
    • Type 1 Diabetes
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Prediabetes
    • Diabetes Devices
    • Diabetes Products
    • Diabetes Medication
    • Diabetes Complications
    • Mental Health
  • Diet
    • Meal Plans
    • Low Carb Foods
  • Exercise
    • Workout Videos
    • The Fit With Diabetes eBook
  • Recipes
    • The Diabetes Strong Cookbook
  • Diabetes Coaching
  • About

Home » Diabetes » Type 1 Diabetes » How to Translate Your A1c to a Blood Sugar Level

Christel OerumBy Christel Oerum on March 6, 2019, Updated March 19, 2020
Diabetes

How to Translate Your A1c to a Blood Sugar Level

An HbA1c reading on its own isn’t very helpful unless you know what it really means about your daily blood sugar levels.

Understanding how your A1c accumulates over the course of 3 months and how it translates to an actual average blood sugar level is a critical part of diabetes management that is often never explained in the doctor’s office.

In this article, we’ll talk about how AGEs lead to your A1c, how your A1c result translates to an eAG, and what you can do next with that information!

How to Translate Your A1c to a Blood Sugar Level

Table of Contents

  • What your A1c is really measuring: Advanced Glycogenated End-Products
  • What is an estimated average glucose level?
  • Translating your A1c to a blood sugar level
  • Determining your own A1c and eAG goals

What your A1c is really measuring: Advanced Glycogenated End-Products

Your A1c is actually a measurement of the amount of “advanced glycogenated end-products” that have accumulated in your bloodstream over the course of the prior 3 months.

Also known as “AGEs,” these are essentially a form of excess sugar from your bloodstream that is responsible for damaging crucial nerve-endings and blood vessels throughout your entire body.

The more AGEs are present in your bloodstream, the more damage your body is experiencing that results in the classic list of diabetes complications like retinopathy, neuropathy, hair-loss, gastroparesis, dermopathy, and nephropathy.

The higher your blood sugars are on a daily basis, the more AGEs build-up in your bloodstream. The more AGEs there are in your bloodstream means the higher your next A1c result will be!

While we don’t talk about AGEs regularly in the doctor’s office or online, they are exactly what your A1c is measuring.

 

What is an estimated average glucose level?

Before we start talking about A1c results, we need to clear up one thing: your eAG.

Your eAG is simply your “estimated average glucose level” or blood sugar level.

Your eAG is another term rarely used in doctor’s offices, but it’s pretty darn important if you’re trying to improve your A1c and your overall risk of diabetes complications.

We all know our blood sugar never stays put in one place for very long, so your eAG doesn’t imply that your blood sugar is always that number, but instead it’s the middle of the overall range of your blood sugar’s fluctuations each day.

Okay, let’s get more specific…

Translating your A1c to a blood sugar level

It’s easy to see an A1c result of 8.0 percent and think, “Oh, my blood sugars are usually in-range. Everything is fine.” But if you look more closely at what an 8.0 percent A1c really translates to as a blood sugar level, you may be surprised.

You can use this easy A1c/ eAG conversion chart from the American Diabetes Association to instantly translate your latest A1c result to an eAG.

Estimated Average Glucose Levels

You can read more about blood sugar levels in the post “What are Normal Blood Sugar Levels?”

 

Determining your own A1c and eAG goals

In an ideal world, sure, we would all eat zero carbohydrates and our A1cs would be a magical 5.0. But managing diabetes is not that simple.

This means that determining that right A1c goal for you, your body, and your life as a person with diabetes is a very personal decision that you and your healthcare team decide on.

For instance, someone with a background of hypoglycemia unawareness may find a target A1c of 6.0 percent to simply be too dangerous, putting them at too much risk for severe hypoglycemia.

Someone who lives by themselves may find that sleeping with blood sugars lower than 120 mg/dL, for example, is simply too scary.

Someone who has in recovery from diabulimia and has spent the past several years with blood sugars above 300 mg/dL will need to lower blood sugar levels very gradually with the help of their healthcare team and support team. This means their A1c is going to be set at a higher target than “normal,” too.

To learn more about setting A1c targets and lowering your A1c (and why it’s not always the best diabetes management goal), please read our comprehensive guide to lowering your A1c.

 

Everyone is in a different place with their diabetes management, and we all have different personal needs, challenges, and goals. And that needs to be okay. Focus on what’s right for you and your current life as a person with diabetes.

If you found this guide to translating your A1c to a blood sugar level useful, please sign up for our newsletter (and get a sign-up bonus) in the form below. We send out a weekly newsletter with the latest posts and recipes from Diabetes Strong.

Success! Now check your email to download the eBook chapter.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

Powered by ConvertKit
  • Facebook 38
  • Twitter
  • Email

Categories: Diabetes

Christel Oerum

About Christel Oerum

Christel is the founder of Diabetes Strong. She is a Certified Personal Trainer specializing in diabetes. As someone living with type 1 diabetes, Christel is particularly passionate about helping others with diabetes live active healthy lives. She’s a diabetes advocate, public speaker, and author of the popular diabetes book Fit With Diabetes.

View all posts by Christel Oerum
Previous Post: « 8 Diabetes-Friendly Pancake Recipes (Low-Carb)
Next Post: Keto Peanut Butter Fat Bombs »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarBrista Torris says

    May 20, 2019 at 4:57 am

    Thanks For Sharing Such a great article . Actually after being a patient of diabetes cant find solution to cure it . Your article really helped me out.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Popular Articles

What are normal blood sugar levels?

What are Normal Blood Sugar Levels?

How Natural & Artificial Sweeteners Affect Blood Sugar

The Best Sweeteners for People with Diabetes

How to lower your A1c

How to Lower Your A1c: The Complete Guide

How to cook chicken breast

How to Bake Chicken Breast in the Oven (So It’s Always Juicy)

How to Avoid High Morning Blood Sugars

How to Avoid High Morning Blood Sugar

Diabetes meal plan

7 -Day Diabetes Meal Plan (with Printable Grocery List)

Footer

Follow Us on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Disclosures
  • Media
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Policy
  • Advertisement Policy

© 2015 – 2020 Diabetes Strong. All right reserved. Diabetes Strong does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.