Diabetes is a severe medical condition that affects millions of people worldwide. It interferes with people’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates, which can cause a litany of other health issues or even be life-threatening effectively.

Blood sugar levels must be tested regularly as part of any diabetes management strategy, but why? And how does it work?

Why It’s Necessary to Check Your Blood Sugar When You Have Diabetes

Diabetes results from your body’s inability to process the carbohydrates you consume as part of an everyday diet. Carbohydrates can be found in most foods people eat, so it’s hard to avoid them.

In individuals who have Type 1 diabetes, their pancreas, which is the organ that produces insulin, becomes non-functional. Insulin is necessary because it’s a molecule that allows cells to utilize carbohydrates in the form of glucose (blood sugar). Without insulin, blood sugar levels rise, cells can no longer access the energy they need to function, and many severe health complications result.

For people with Type 2 diabetes, their pancreas still functions. Still, cells begin to experience “insulin resistance,” which means that it becomes harder and harder for them to respond to the effects of insulin. Type 2 diabetes is less threatening than Type 1, but long-term issues like organ damage, eye damage, limb damage, and nerve pain are common.

Regardless of what kind of diabetes is being discussed, it becomes necessary to regularly use insulin as part of a treatment plan, usually following meals. To see how much insulin you need, it’s vital to track how many carbohydrates you consume and your blood sugar.

Checking blood sugar is important because it determines whether or not taking insulin is appropriate. For example, insulin lowers blood sugar and blood sugar levels that are too low can cause people with diabetes to enter a coma. Carbohydrates can counteract low blood sugar, so taking insulin, even if you have just consumed carbs, isn’t a good idea unless you check your blood sugar first. Not doing this can be very risky.

How Do You Test Your Blood sugar?

Although knowing why blood sugar levels are important is a good start, understanding how to monitor glucose is just as important. You can find more information and resources about Diabetes on Tandem Diabetes’s website.

The most common way people test their blood sugar is to prick their fingers to get a small blood sample. This sample is then measured using a test strip using a glucose meter, displaying someone’s glucose level.

Alternatively, it’s become much more popular for people to use continuous glucose monitoring systems. These are technological devices that are continually attached to your body, allowing you to see your glucose levels. They often come with specialized monitors that display your blood sugar, but many can be connected to smartphones.

Being Prepared

Diabetes is a severe medical condition that can be scary at times, but the reality is that it’s manageable and there are tools out there to help.