As we age, is it more important to keep one’s blood sugar levels from getting too high or too low? In a perfect world, the answer would be “both” — but a growing number of doctors are now leaning towards a higher tolerance for higher blood sugar as we grow older.
As the Mayo Clinic and other experts have pointed out, hypoglycemia — when someone’s levels of blood sugar go below the standard range — is a condition that needs to be treated as quickly as possible. In a recent New York Times article, Paula Span explained why doctors working with older Americans are starting to emphasize preventing blood sugar levels from getting too low, even if that means that those same levels could go too high.
Dr. Sei Lee of the University of California, San Francisco told the Times that maintaining precise control…