What’s the desirable blood glucose level?

Everyone’s blood has some glucose in it. In people who don’t have diabetes, the normal range is about 70 to 120. Blood glucose goes up after eating but 1 or 2 hours later returns to the normal range.

Ask your health care team when you should check your blood glucose with a meter. Talk about whether the blood glucose targets listed below are best for you.

Blood glucose targets for most people with diabetes

Before meals
90 to 130

1 to 2 hours after the start of a meal
less than 180

It may be hard to reach your target range all of the time. But the closer you get to your goal, the more you will reduce your risk of diabetes-related problems and the better you will feel. Every step helps.




Information provided by the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH Publication No. 07– 4016, October 2006

Last Reviewed: June 15, 2007
By: David Mangusan Jr., PTRP