the preferred method of diagnosing diabetes is the because it is easy to administer, convenient for patients and less expensive than other tests (according to the American Diabetes Association). The FPG measures a person's blood glucose level after fasting or not eating anything for 10 to 12 hours. Normal fasting blood glucose is between 70 and 115 mg/dl for people who do not have diabetes. The standard diagnosis of diabetes is made when two blood tests show that your fasting blood glucose level is greater than or equal to 126 mg/dl.
A blood test that measures the amount of sugar (glucose) in a person's blood. The Fasting Plasma Glucose Test requires an empty stomach, with a person having nothing to eat or drink, except water, for eight hours. Blood is drawn from a vein and the sample is collected into a tube containing an anticoagulant, which stops the blood from clotting. In the laboratory, the tube of blood spins at high speed within a machine called a centrifuge. The blood cells sink to the bottom and the liquid stays on the top. This straw-colored liquid on the top is the plasma, which is then combined with other substances. The resulting reaction determines the amount of glucose in the plasma.