About Diabetes
Over 20 million people in the United States have diabetes.
One of the most important things you can do to decrease your risk of complications is to get your blood sugar under control. Improved glucose control can help save your eyesight, your kidneys, and even your life. But what exactly does “improved glucose control” mean? How do you know when you’re doing it right?
One of the most important tests in diabetes care is the “hemoglobin A1C.” This test tells how well you’ve been doing at controlling your diabetes over the past three months. When blood sugar is high it causes changes in hemoglobin, a molecule that carries oxygen in your blood. The new form of hemoglobin is called hemoglobin A1C. The more hemoglobin A1C you have, the higher the number—and high numbers mean your blood sugar is out of control. The American Diabetes Association says a safe A1C number in diabetes is 7.0. People without diabetes usually have an A1C number less than 6.
How do you get that number down? You have to monitor your blood sugar daily. If your blood sugars are pretty good but your A1C is still too high, you may need to check your postprandial glucose level. That’s a fancy way of saying that you should check your blood sugar one to two hours after the start of a meal. The reasons are convincing. Not only does that postprandial glucose level contribute a lot to your A1C, it’s been shown that high blood glucose levels following meals is a risk factor for death!
If you check your levels after you eat, you will see firsthand the effects that different foods have on your blood sugar. Maybe you’ll see that your blood sugar tends to be high after breakfast or that a large bowl of pasta may not be the best choice for lunch. If you know this from checking your postprandial glucose level, you will be able to make better food choices in an effort to fix it. Further, if you keep a log of your levels, you will be able to aid your doctor in adjusting your medication schedule. The American Diabetes Association recommends aiming for a postprandial glucose level less than 180 mg/dl.
If your doctor hasn’t mentioned postprandial blood glucose monitoring, it may be because he or she doesn’t know the importance of it. Information in medicine changes quickly and it can be difficult to keep up. The next time you visit your doctor, ask about postprandial glucose monitoring. It is, without question, another way that you can help keep your diabetes in optimal control.
Related Links:
Nutrition Advice from Discovery Health Experts
Unfortunately, many of them will develop serious complications of the disease. Diabetes is a major cause of heart attacks, blindness, and limb amputation. If you have diabetes, are you doing all you can to prevent these from happening to you?
Dr. Whyte,
You should read Dr. Richard Berstein's book "Diabetes Solutions". The ADA's recommendations are way to high.
Posted by: jay | September 17, 2007 at 06:20 PM
Saw the last part of the program on diabetres on discovery health for CME.
Can you provide the references that were listed there or make the transcript or URL available?
Seemed to me like some of the information was improtant to all diabetics type 1 and 2.
Thanks
Bill Quirk Ph.D.
Posted by: William Quirk | November 12, 2007 at 11:42 AM