An intriguing study shows the severe organ damage experienced by peoples whose blood sugar falls in to range most Doctors consider to be normal.A team of researchers autopsied the pancreases of deceased patients who were known to have had fasting blood sugars that tested between 110mg/dl and 125mg/dl with in two years of their deaths.The researchers found that these patients,whose blood sugar was not high enough for them to be diagnosed as diabetic,had already lost ,on average,40% of their insulin producing beta cells.
Since the Americans Diabetes Association believes that fasting blood sugar level of 100mg/dl corresponds to a 2 hours glucose tolerance levels of 140mg/dl to 199 mg/dl,this suggests that patients whose post meal blood sugars rise only to the non diabetic impaired level may be well on the way to losing as 40% of their beta cell mass.It also suggests that peoples with abnormal glucose tolerance who wish to avoid further beta cell loss should try to keep their blood sugars under 140 mg/dl at all times.
However ,it is important to understand that in any study that measures only fasting blood sugar and finds a correlation with complications.It is not the fasting blood sugar that are doing the damage when they are under 140mg/dl.
The reason slightly elevated fasting blood sugars ,correlate with beta cell destruction is that peoples with slightly elevated fasting blood sugars who eat high carbohydrate meals are experiencing high.and often long lasting,blood sugars spikes after each meal they eat A person who is obese/or overweight whose fasting blood sugar is 110mg/dl eat only 12 grams of carbohydrate to raise their blood sugar to 150,and most of them are likely to be eating 50to 60 gms of carbohydrate per meal,ensuring that their blood sugars are well over 150 for several hours after each meal.
It is those high post meal readings that go along with elevated fasting levels that cause the glucose toxicity that damages organs and cause complications.