What is glucose?
Glucose or dextrose is a carbohydrate or carbohydrate that is related to the amount of sugar that the body can absorb from food and converted into energy to perform different functions or just help keep the body warm. During the process known as metabolism , glucose is oxidized in the body and produces carbon dioxide, water and some other nitrogen compounds, providing energy. This energy efficiency is approximately 686 kilo calories per mol of substance.
Together with fructose and galactose , glucose is one of the three kinds of monosaccharides that are present in foods and during digestion are absorbed directly into the human bloodstream; their presence determines the level of blood sugar or glucose .
Although in many cases it appears as a single molecule may also be part of other polymers, macromolecules made by joining different smaller molecules. Among these polymers are the starch and glycogen (both book), and cellulose and chitin (as part of cellular structures); they all have a great importance for the proper functioning of organism.
Suitable glucose levels
Normal levels of blood glucose in people who do not have diabetes or other related disease are between 70 and 100 milligrams of glucose per deciliter of blood (mg / dl) when fasting and less than 140 mg / dl two hours after eating. In the case of diabetics, it depends on each case, but is higher; They have been established optimal levels ranging from 80 to 100 mg / dl fasting, and below 140 mg / dl two hours after eating.
Therefore, the blood glucose levels are useful when determining whether or not a person has diabetes. For these levels there are a number of tests, such as performing a urine test (in which the presence of glucose or ketones is sought), another simple test finger stick using a glucose meter , which measures the amount of glucose, although usually not enough, or blood test fasting, which is the ideal test. You can also perform a random blood test at any time of the day regardless of whether they have eaten food or not, or tolerance test oral glucose (which, after fasting for a period of time of at least 8 hours, a dose administered glucose to proceed to performing a basal blood analysis, when and two hours).
Should the results obtained by these tests be abnormal, either too high or too low, there might be some disease. If they are higher than they should, apart from diabetes for some other health problem may have occurred. The most common in these cases are hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid (for which the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone), the pancreatic cancer or other tumors, pancreatitis(characterized by swelling and inflammation of the pancreas ), or stress generated by various causes (such as trauma, stroke or surgery).
Conversely, if blood glucose levels are lower than expected and the values that are considered normal, this is a case of hypoglycemia . It may also be due to several causes. Diabetics get to experience this condition at certain times of your routine, or if you have consumed too much insulin or high doses of other diabetes medication, but may also occur in people who suffer from a kidney or liver disease , who have had some type of weight loss surgery and have experienced weight loss , performing strenuous exercise or have had a very prolonged fasting before performing the analysis.
There are also certain medications that affect the level of glucose in the blood rises and falls. For this reason, before performing the analysis it is important to tell your doctor the medications you are taking , so as to avoid misdiagnosis.
