Your blood glucose (sugar) levels are a critical part of your overall health and your body’s ability to function properly.
For those of us with diabetes, striving to achieve “normal” blood sugar levels is a constant, hour-by-hour pursuit. And it isn’t easy.
In this article, we’ll look at normal blood sugar levels and goal ranges for people without diabetes and recommended blood sugar goals for people with prediabetes, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes.
Table of Contents
- Normal blood sugar ranges in people without diabetes (chart)
- Recommended blood sugar ranges in people with diabetes (chart)
- How do you know what your blood glucose level is?
- Diagnosing prediabetes, type 1, and type 2 diabetes
- Your A1c and blood sugar goals
- Your blood sugar isn’t just because of what you eat
- Final thoughts: Still frustrated with your blood sugar and A1c results?
Normal blood sugar ranges in people without diabetes (chart)
For a person without any type of diabetes, blood sugar levels are generally between 70 to 99 mg/dL (3.9 to 5.5 mmol/L) fasting and under 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) after a meal.
Here are the normal blood sugar ranges for a person without diabetes according to the NIH:
Fasting Blood Sugar (e.g., In the Morning Before Eating) | Less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) |
1 to 2 Hours After a Meal | Less than 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) |
2 to 3 Hours After a Meal | Less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) |
Recommended blood sugar ranges in people with diabetes (chart)
Here are the generally recommended blood sugar ranges for a person with diabetes according to the ADA:
Fasting Blood Sugar (e.g., In the Morning Before Eating) | 80 to 130 mg/dL (4.4 to 7.2 mmol/L) |
1 to 2 Hours After a Meal | Less than 180 mg/dL (10.0 mmol/L) |
Learn more about fasting and after-meal blood sugar levels in: Blood Sugar Chart: Blood Sugar and A1c Targets.
How do you know what your blood glucose level is?
Unless it’s fairly high or low, you generally can’t feel what your blood sugar level is. And in fact, you may not even be able to tell from physical symptoms when it is high or low.
The best way to know your blood sugar level is to either check it with a traditional glucose meter or use a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) device.
For a glucose meter, you do a finger-stick with a lancet, put a drop of blood onto a test strip, and then insert the strip into the meter for a reading. With a CGM, readings are taken from the interstitial fluid (the fluid between the cells) about every 5 minutes via a sensor inserted just under the skin.
Diagnosing prediabetes, type 1, and type 2 diabetes
The following are tests that may be used by your healthcare provider to determine if you have diabetes:
Tests used to diagnose diabetes
Fasting plasma glucose test
This test measures your glucose level at a single point in time, typically after you have been fasting (nothing to eat or drink except water) for at least 8 hours.
Random glucose test
This test measures your glucose level at a single point in time and may be given at any time, whether you have fasted or not.
Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)
For this test, you will have a blood sample taken after fasting for at least 8 hours. Next, you will drink a liquid high in sugar and will have another blood sample taken after 2 hours to see how your blood glucose levels have changed.
(In those who are pregnant, glucose will be checked every hour for 2 to 3 hours to test for gestational diabetes.)
A1c test
This blood test reflects your average glucose levels over the previous 2 to 3 months. You can eat and drink prior to having an A1c test.
A repeat of these tests is typically required to confirm a diabetes diagnosis.
Test results for diagnosing diabetes (chart)
The following blood sugar and A1c results (a measure of glucose control over the previous 2 to 3 months) are used to diagnose prediabetes and diabetes, according to the ADA:
A1c | Fasting Glucose | 2 Hours After a Meal | |
Prediabetes | 5.7 to 6.4 percent | 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L) | 140 mg/dL to 199 mg to dL (7.8 to 11.1 mmol/L) |
Diabetes (type 1 or type 2) | 6.5 percent or higher | 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or higher | 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or higher |
Learn more about diagnosing diabetes in: Types of Diabetes.
Please note: Type 1 diabetes tends to develop very quickly, which means that by the time symptoms are felt, blood sugar levels are often well above 200 mg/dL all the time. For many people, symptoms come on so quickly that they are dismissed as a lingering flu or another seemingly ordinary virus.
By the time blood sugar levels are checked, many people with undiagnosed type 1 diabetes may have levels above 400 mg/dL or higher.
If you suspect that you or a loved one has type 1 diabetes, visit your primary care or urgent care immediately and ask for a urine test to measure ketones in addition to checking blood sugar levels and A1c.
Read more about ketones at diagnosis in: How to Avoid Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA).
Your A1c and blood sugar goals
Managing any type of diabetes is far more complicated than giving a person some insulin and telling them to keep their blood sugars within X and X mg/dL. If you’ve lived with diabetes for more than a few days, you probably already know this.
What is A1c?
“A1c, also known as hemoglobin A1c, HbA1c, glycated hemoglobin, or glycohemoglobin, is a blood test that measures your average blood sugar over the last 2 to 3 months,” explains Christel Oerum, MS, in Diabetes Strong’s guide to lowering your A1c.
Although the test reflects the glucose attached to hemoglobin (the protein in your red blood cells) over the past 2 to 3 months, the blood sugar levels in the 2 weeks leading up to your A1c test influence the results the most. Essentially, higher blood sugar levels during this period result in more glucose binding to hemoglobin.
Translating your A1c to a blood sugar level
Using this simple calculator from the ADA, you can translate your most recent A1c result to an “eAG,” or “estimated average glucose level.”
You can also use this translation when working to improve your A1c and achieve closer to normal blood sugar levels.
For instance, if you know an A1c of 6.0 percent equates to an average blood sugar level of 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L), then you can look at your current blood sugar results on your CGM and meter and pinpoint what time of day you’re frequently higher than that level.
A1c | eAG |
6 percent | 126 mg/dL |
7 percent | 154 mg/dL |
8 percent | 183 mg/dL |
9 percent | 212 mg/dL |
10 percent | 240 mg/dL |
11 percent | 269 mg/dL |
12 percent | 298 mg/dL |
Normal blood sugar levels in a person without diabetes can result in an A1c of 5.6 percent or lower.
Just a decade or two ago, it was rare for a person with type 1 diabetes to achieve an A1c result below 6.0 percent.
Thanks to new and improved insulin and better technology like CGMs, smarter insulin pumps, and hybrid closed-loop technology (which allows some insulin doses to be automatically delivered), more people with diabetes are now able to safely achieve A1c levels in the higher 5 percent range.
Why your A1c matters
In a nutshell: Your A1c is one of the clearest indicators of your risk for developing diabetes complications like neuropathy (nerve damage), retinopathy (a type of eye disease), nephropathy (kidney disease), cardiovascular disease, and severe infection in any part of your body that requires healing.
For instance, a small cut on your toe could become infected due to high blood sugars, struggle to heal, and become severe enough that the infection could require an amputation.
The general guidelines from the ADA recommend an A1c level of less than 7.0 percent to help prevent diabetes-related complications. Lowering your A1c closer to 6.0 percent may further reduce the risk of microvascular complications (those impacting the small blood vessels), such as those affecting the eyes (retinopathy), kidneys (nephropathy), and nerves (neuropathy).
Some people with diabetes aim for A1c levels in the 5s and lower — especially those who follow strict low-carb diets like the ketogenic diet and the Bernstein diet. However, this hasn’t been proven in research as especially necessary, nor is it reasonably achievable for the larger population of people with diabetes.
It’s also important to remember that your blood sugar levels and your A1c are just information that tells you whether your body needs changes in factors like insulin, other diabetes medications like metformin, your nutrition, or your physical activity.
If you don’t like the number you’re seeing on your glucose meter or your A1c results, use that number as motivation to make changes (with the support of your diabetes healthcare team) in how you safely manage your diabetes in order to get different results.
Determining the right A1c goal for you
Just because a blood sugar range of 70 to 130 mg/dL (3.9 to 7.2 mmol/L) is considered the healthiest for people with diabetes doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the appropriate goal range for you — especially if you have type 1 diabetes, or take insulin as a person with type 2 diabetes.
The reason this may not be the right goal for you is that extremely tight blood sugar management in people taking insulin can potentially lead to frequent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), which can be dangerous.
Achieving extremely tight blood sugar management also generally requires a strict nutrition plan, very frequent blood sugar monitoring, precise medication management, and, often, years of experience studying your blood sugar levels.
Your A1c goals should be set in close consultation with your medical team, who can help balance the benefits and risks of different targets based on your health status, lifestyle, and preferences.
Older adults with cognitive or functional limitations or severe comorbidities (major additional health issues) may have a less-stringent A1c goal of less than 8 percent.
It is also worth noting that your A1c targets can change over time as your diabetes management evolves.
A1c goals should be individualized
“A1c goals should be individualized based on the individual capabilities, risks, and prior experiences,” explains Gary Scheiner, MS, CDCES, founder of Integrated Diabetes and author of Think Like a Pancreas.
“For example, we generally aim for very tight A1c levels during pregnancy and more conservative targets in young children and the elderly.”
Scheiner highlights important factors that could justify aiming for a higher A1c, like hypoglycemia unawareness, a condition in which a person with diabetes no longer feels the typical warning signs of low blood sugar.
Hypoglycemia unawareness can put you at significant risk for severe low blood sugars that have the potential to be life-threatening. To reduce that risk, you would aim for higher target blood sugar ranges.
“Someone with significant hypoglycemia unawareness and a history of severe lows should target higher blood glucose levels than someone who can detect and manage their lows more effectively,” adds Scheiner.
“And certainly, someone who has been running A1cs in double digits [like 10 percent or higher] for quite some time should not be targeting an A1c of 6 percent … better to set modest, realistic, achievable goals.”
Read about reducing your A1c in: How to Lower Your A1c and How to Lower A1c Naturally.
Your blood sugar isn’t just because of what you eat
It’s easy to believe that your blood sugar levels are impacted only by what you eat and how much you exercise, but people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes who check their blood sugars frequently could tell you otherwise.
It’s especially important to keep this in mind when looking at your own blood sugars and your goals, because there are certain variables and challenges that impact blood sugar levels that you can’t always control.
For example:
- Menstrual cycles: often raise blood sugar and insulin needs
- Adrenaline rushes from competitive sports, heated arguments, roller coaster rides, and other intense situations: raise blood sugar and insulin needs
- The common cold and other illnesses: usually raise blood sugar and insulin needs
- Hormonal changes due to puberty and healthy growth in young adults: raise blood sugar and insulin needs
- An injury that increases overall inflammation levels: raises blood sugar and insulin needs
- Gluconeogenesis during anaerobic exercise: raises blood sugar and insulin needs
While you can’t necessarily prevent these factors that affect your blood sugar from occurring, you can work with your diabetes healthcare team to adjust your insulin, other diabetes medications, nutrition, and activity levels to help compensate for them when they do occur.
For example, when engaging in anaerobic exercise such as weightlifting, many people with type 1 diabetes find it necessary to take a small bolus of insulin prior to or during their workout because anaerobic exercise can actually raise blood sugar.
Final thoughts: Still frustrated with your blood sugar and A1c results?
Your blood sugars and your insulin or medication needs never stay in one place. If you gain weight or lose weight, your insulin and medication needs will change. If you become more active or less active, your needs will change. If you make drastic or even small changes to your nutrition, your needs will change.
Working with your diabetes healthcare team and diabetes coaches who can teach you how to make changes in your overall diabetes management plan is essential. Diabetes is a lifelong learning process.
Take a deep breath and be patient. If you don’t like what you’re seeing on your glucose meter, don’t get mad … get studying! Take good notes and work with your team to make changes to reach your goals.
Deepak
Hello, I was diagnosed with prediabetes. But my hba1c is 7.1 and FBS is 102. After an appointment with Doctor, he advice for OGTT test, after OGTT test result as follows;
Fasting – 95
2h OGTT – 167.
Now, according to your hba1c level it’s seems that I have Type 2 diabetes but my doctor says it’s prediabetes. Kindly clear.
Christel Oerum
Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition and maybe your doctor wants to see more tests over time before giving you a firm type 2 diagnosis. But I can’t tell you what your doctor’s reasoning is, only he/she can. I’d encourage you to always ask your doctor questions and see your appointments as a collaboration (if your doctor is up for it of course). You can read more about pre-diabetes here: https://diabetesstrong.com/prediabetes/
Elexis Shirit
Hi, I am not prediabetic or diabetic….but I’ve had my A1c tested by my fertility center. None of the doctors pointed it out but I was just looking at my results which say 4.7 and it says “low”. Should I be concerned? This means that I am NOT insulin resistant, right?
Christel Oerum
A low A1C means that your blood sugars generally are running low which is not an indicator of diabetes or insulin resistance. If you scroll down to the A1C section we do briefly touch on normal levels: “Normal blood sugar levels” in a person without diabetes can result in an A1c as low as 4.6 or 4.7″. But if you are concerned I suggest bringing it up with your primary care doctor at your next visit. CAn’t hurt to have the conversation
Mohsen
Hi. My mom was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. She had no prior symptoms or any history of other diseases. However, during the last 45 days she experienced extreme stress. Her fasting blood Glucose was 198 and 218 (two tests 5 days apart). A1C was 10.2. Can she control her blood sugar without any insulin injection (with diet and exercise and Metformin)? Will using medications such as Metformin pills be forever or temporary?
Christel Oerum
This article should give you detailed answers to those questions: https://diabetesstrong.com/type-2-diabetes/
But the short answer is maybe. Some people can reduce their blood sugars through diet and exercise, some with metformin, some with other injectables or insulin. It depends on her body
Steve Neill
Hi im 41 yrs and today i just found out that i have type 2 diabetes what is my blood sugar supposed to be at im all new to this
Christel Oerum
Hi Steve, I know a diabetes diagnosis can be overwhelming. Your blood sugar targets and ultimately your A1C should be set by you and your doctor to fit your lifestyle and the tools you’ve been prescribed to manage it. Yes, ultimately we’d like to see blood sugars closer to “normal” blood sugar but that will not always be achievable and definitely not 100% of the time.
If you haven’t been given a target the American Diabetes Association gives the following guidelines:
-Before a meal (preprandial plasma glucose): 80–130 mg/dL
– 1-2 hours after the beginning of the meal (postprandial plasma glucose)*: Less than 180 mg/dL
I think you might also find this article on Type 2 diabetes interesting: https://diabetesstrong.com/type-2-diabetes/
Alex
Hi I had a question this morning my check my blood for sugar and the readings were 116 before my meal and two hours later it was 107 should I worry
Christel Oerum
Probably not, as your blood sugars are very close to the normal range. But you need more data before your doctor can make an assessment. Ultimately I’d advise you to have your doctor do an A1C test if you’re concerned. That’s a more accurate way of assessing your overall blood sugars than a few blood sugar readings
Bev
Hi my A1C is in the Prediabetic range so I lost 20 lbs, exercise daily and eat a low carb diet. My blood sugar in the morning is still 101or 102. I can’t get it under a 100. Do I need to start the metformin?
Christel Oerum
First off, well done making so many positive changes for your health! Your morning blood sugars are only one part of the equation. You need to get your A1C measured and your doctor will assess whether you should start any type of medication.
Nia
Hi, I did an at-home blood glucometer finger prick test at 10.30 pm, five or more hours after I last ate. It was 97 mg/dl. Am I pre-diabetic or diabetic? I didn’t eat anything sweet that day or anything much at all so I was surprised it was so high. I had tested it that same morning when I woke up, before eating, and it was 88 mg/dl.
Christel Oerum
Those are perfectly normal blood sugars, so based on those two readings, I wouldn’t worry. But you’ll need to get more comprehensive testing to know if you have diabetes. You can ask your doctor for an A1C test, and that can help your doctor determine if your blood sugars are out of range
Nia
Thank you. I have the A1C appointment on Tuesday.
Abbas
have been a type2er for 10+yrs. 51yrs old and decently disciplined with my meals +exercise. but recently been suffering from spells of feeling faint and breathless and temper is getting out of control. Even a small argument with my wife turns me into a monster. is it Covid or my medication side effects or both ?
Christel Oerum
COuld be low blood sugar but the only way to tell is by measuring your blood sugar when you feel off. But it could also be completely unrelated to diabetes. Sounds like it’s time to see your doctor and get it checked out
Bhupendra Pattni
Hi , I’m bit confused about meter reading. First of all I don’t understand why ,e.g. 154 mg/dL or any other numbers is equal to? (good or bad) – like for example 5.3 0r 5.6 is better ,worst or ok I don’t want to read or get confused all I know when I am checking before any meal it read 5.6 later after meal 3-4 hours reads 6.2 to 6.7 – so far i have never been said I have diabetes by my doc but lately I started checking this is what it read(above) -by the way Im74 years man. Do I need to worry? Just now – 2 hours a go I had one toast and few penauts and I just tested my blood it reads 5.4 and its says besides 5.4mmol underneath L. How am I? Please advise,Thanks! p.s: last 2 weeks a go one time reached 6.8 after meal am I OK?
Christel Oerum
Since you’re mentioning blood sugars of 5.3 to 6.8 your meter is in mmol/L. The levels mentioned in this article are in mg/dL. You convert from mg/dL to mmol/L by diving by 18. So normal blood sugar readings in mmol/L are:
– Fasting blood sugar (in the morning, before eating): under 5.5 mmol/L
1 hour after a meal: 5 to 7.2 mmol/L
2 hours after a meal: 5 to 6.1 mmol/L
5 or more hours after eating: 3.9 to 5 mmol/L
All of your readings sound like they are within these ranges, indicating that your blood sugars are normal. But to know if you’re blood sugars on average are above range you’ll need an A1C test at your doctors
Raja
Hi , I was diagnosed with type 2 , I did hba1c it is 8.6 and started medicine as per doctor suggested and following diet and before fasting my sugar levels are 110,120 after meal it’s 160 is it normal please help.
Christel Oerum
After starting you on your meds your doctor should have asked you to come back for a follow-up to assess if the medication is at the right level. Depending on your doctor’s goal for you, the blood sugars you mention might be right where he wants them. But you’d have to ask him that. My guess is that most doctors would be happy with your numbers though