What is a normal insulin level?
One of the effective ways to prevent diabetes attacks is by monitoring your body’s glucose levels. Whether your blood sugar levels vary or not, blooud shugar monitors can help you measure the amount of sugar or carbohydrates to take daily. But how about your body’s insulin levels? Is it essential to know how your insulin circulates throughout your bloodstream?
The human body requires continual insulin flow in the blood. The circulating insulin levels in the bloodstream are a good sign that your body is healthy and functioning. Aside from that, the levels of insulin present in the blood control blood glucose and prevent diabetes mellitus.
What is a normal insulin level? How will you know if your insulin levels are at a dangerous phase?
For non-diabetic people, the normal insulin levels should be between 60 and 100 mg/dl. It may rise to 140 mg/dl after eating. On the other hand, the insulin levels of people with diabetes should range from 25 mIU/L at fasting to 30-230 mIU/L after glucose consumption.
It is important to note that insulin levels can vary depending on the amount of glucose the body receives. Consider the table below that best explains the range of normal insulin levels after glucose administration.
Glucose Intake and Normal Insulin Level
| Glucose Intake | Normal Insulin Level |
| Fasting | < 25 mIU/L |
| 30 minutes after glucose intake | 30-230 mIU/L |
| 1 hour after glucose intake | 18-276 mIU/L |
| 2 hours after glucose intake | 16-166 mIU/L |
| 3 hours or more after glucose intake | < 25 mIU/L |
What happens if your insulin levels go increasingly high or drop very low?
The following bodily reactions occur if there is an excessive amount of insulin in the blood:
- Increased hunger and thirst
- Magnesium deficiency (which causes poor blood circulation)
- Increased need for sodium (which leads to hypertension)
- Inflammation within the bloodstream (causing damage to the walls of blood vessels)
When there is a reduction in the levels of insulin in the bloodstream, blood sugar levels increase abnormally. When this occurs, different health complications emerge like kidney disease, loss of vision, and damage to the nerves.
How can you maintain normal insulin levels?
Exercise – Daily exercise helps stabilize blood sugar levels and keeps insulin levels at normal. A simple 30-minute walk outside is enough to prevent abnormal insulin and blood glucose fluctuations.
Change your diet – Part of diabetes management is changing your lifestyle, particularly your daily diet. Doctors recommend eating lots of vegetables, especially those with high fiber.
Reduce sugar intake – Reducing sugar intake helps lessen your risk for prediabetes. This also prevents insulin levels from getting high and low.
Take medications – Drugs are necessary to control fluctuating blood sugar levels. One of the widely used medications for diabetes is metformin. Ensure you follow daily treatment with metformin to prevent such a condition.
Doctor’s Recommendation
Adopting a ketogenic (high fat low carb diet) diet may allow for less need for insulin administration and the ability to calculate the optimal insulin dosage as the dietary variation of carbohydrate intake is minimal between days.
