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What is a normal blood sugar level?

Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS

Fasting, a normal level is under 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L). 100 to 125 is prediabetes territory, and 126 or above on two occasions suggests diabetes. Two hours after a meal, under 140 mg/dL is the usual healthy mark.

One reading rarely settles anything: stress, illness and even a poor night of sleep move sugar around. The pattern across days is the real signal.

If your numbers keep landing in the gray zone, an HbA1c blood test averages the last three months and gives the cleanest answer.

If you are buying a meter

Any major-brand glucose meter is accurate enough for home tracking. The real cost is the strips, so compare strip prices before choosing the meter.

See glucose meters and strips

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General answers only go so far. A doctor can look at your numbers and history and give you a written answer about you.

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