Updated 13 August 2026
Most people leave an appointment with a number and no explanation of what it measures. These articles cover the basics: what fasting glucose actually is, why the morning reading is so often the worst one of the day, how A1C is calculated, and what the research does and does not support about food, sleep and movement.
Nothing here is medical advice, and none of it replaces your own clinician.
The dawn phenomenon explained: the hormones that release glucose overnight, and why fasting numbers can rise even when you ate nothing.
A1C is an average, not a snapshot. How the test works, the standard thresholds, and the conditions that can make the result misleading.
What counts as fasting, the ranges used for diagnosis, and why a single reading is rarely enough on its own.
The rise after eating is normal. What matters is how high it goes and how quickly it comes back down.
Soluble and insoluble fibre do different jobs. What the evidence shows about glycemic response, and where the effect is strongest.
Short bouts of light activity after eating blunt the post-meal rise. What the studies used, and how little it took.
Short sleep changes how the body handles glucose the next day. What controlled studies found when they restricted sleep in healthy adults.
What the label means, the numbers behind it, why most people have no symptoms, and what the largest prevention trial actually found.