I am a 52 year old male. I checked my blood sugars, and they were 126 mg/dl [7 mmol/L] fasting, and after a meal 110 mg/dl [6.1 mmol/L]. Do I have to cut down on my sugar intake?

Your fasting blood sugar of 126 mg/dl [7 mmol/L] is higher than normal. Did you have it re-tested to have a final diagnosis of diabetes? Your after meal blood sugar of 110 mg/dl [6.1 mmol/L] is within normal range. Have you had any other tests to determine if you have diabetes? Do you have any problems with your blood pressure and/or cholesterol, commonly seen with type�2 diabetes?

Diabetes management today is very different from the past. We now know that exercise and carbohydrate management at meals are powerful tools for people to use in managing blood sugars well. Sugar is merely a carbohydrate. People do not have to avoid sugar, but learn to balance the amount of total carbohydrate at each meal. Sugar or desserts can be part of this total. I encourage you to discuss this further with your physician and ask to speak to a diabetes educator in your area to learn more about carbohydrates and the effect they have on your blood sugar.

KS