There is a relation between people that have diabetes and those that suffer from heart disease problems, this is because both conditions present insulin resistance, if you are one of those that constantly suffer from high levels of glucose in your blood, you should know that you are at risk of heart disease, while this article is not intended to give you medical advise, at least it will point out the main aspects of these undesirable conditions.
As mentioned before, people with high blood sugar levels, diabetic or not, have not insulin available in their body or they have developed severe insulin resistance, in the last case they are usually diagnosed with diabetes. However, there is another case of elevated blood sugar levels, and it is produced because insulin sensitivity is impaired, both conditions increase risks of heart disease.
As you can see, it is all about the levels of glucose in your blood, and when they become too higher. Then – because of that levels – people have problems producing insulin and the body cannot use the sugar that is circulating in the bloodstream for fuel. Now we have another problem, the body is unable to metabolize foods into nutrients for fuel or to build tissue, producing as a consequence a metabolic disorder.
The importance of lowering your blood sugar level is evident, by knowing how to lower or controlling your blood glucose levels you are reducing simultaneously risk of heart disease problems.
Last but not least, once you suffer of metabolic disorders you need to search for specialized advise on restoring insulin sensitivity.
By: Renata Nyleve
Posts Tagged ‘Blood Glucose Levels’
HBA1C Blood Test – Diabetes Testing That Really Works
April 11th, 2010
The HBA1C blood test, also known as the Hemoglobin (Hgb) A1c test, is much more effective in evaluating your blood glucose control since the results give you an average of your blood glucose level over a two to three months period. These HBA1C readings do not fluctuate as wildly as routine blood tests through the course of an average day.
The advantages of using this test in a more or less routine matter are significant. Sometimes an individual can fool himself or herself into a sense of false security because they think they are making sufficient changes in their diets and exercise routines sufficient to prevent damage from elevated glucose.
Unfortunately testing blood glucose levels at home only once or twice a day is wildly dangerous. If you only test your glucose in the morning upon rising it can be perfectly normal and not reflect the bowl of ice cream that you had the night before after which your glucose level went to 250 and beyond. That 250 level, even for a short time, does immediate and long-term damage to your body and blood vessels. This is damage that would even be hidden from your physician for too long of a time without access to the use of the HBA1C blood test.
Busy physicians often do not think to run this test on their patients unless there are extremely obvious reasons for doing so. As a result, it occasionally happens that an individual can go years of being a diabetic before serious side effects bring the problem to the attention of the physician. Unfortunately, the years of being undiagnosed as a diabetic will actually shortened not only one’s life span but also ones quality of life further down the road. This blood test should be a routine matter for all adults.
By: Tony Russo
Diabetes – Frequency of Testing Diabetes
April 4th, 2010
Studies in various parts of the country have indicated that the single blood-glucose measurement, done in the physician’s office every few weeks or months, is still the most common method of diabetes management in the United States. However, other studies have demonstrated the futility of this type of management, and more and more people are being treated by physicians who weigh the results of self testing of blood glucose (SMBG) and glycosylated hemoglobin of some form (such as HgAic or HgAi), rather than having a single blood-glucose measurement done.
The philosophy of obtaining a fasting or postmeal blood-glucose measurement in the doctor’s office is that blood glucose is relatively stable and that the measurement obtained thus reflects the level over the past few weeks and predicts the level for the next few weeks. Nothing could be further from the truth. We reviewed a patient’s chart recently and found the following office blood sugars at 3-month intervals: 217, 67, 197, 46, and 125 mg/dl.
If management is based on these measurements, the medicine would have been increased at blood sugars of 217 and 197, decreased at 67 and 46, and kept the same at 125. In actual fact, in comparison with the HgA1c the blood-sugar (glucose) averages obtained through self testing were about the same for each visit, indicating that there was no need for any change in the diabetes medication. Blood sugar is constantly changing, so a blood-sugar test in the doctor’s office measures the blood sugar only for that moment in time.
The frequency of self-blood testing suggested that testing is different for different clinics. Researchers have shown that the more testing done (and responded to), the better the control and the fewer the complications. Lower blood-glucose levels are found before each meal and at bedtime. Higher blood sugars are found after meals. One hour after a meal, the blood sugar would be higher than 2 hours after a meal. If a person could remember to test for blood-sugar levels on arising and 2 hours after a meal, more information for control would be obtained than if the more easily remembered pre meal and bedtime blood-sugar tests are used.
Again, physician preference may guide the person into testing one way or another that is, testing the fasting blood sugar and 2 hours after each meal, or before meals and at bedtime. If the physician does not ask you to do blood-sugar tests at home but does them in the office only, be suspicious that you are not receiving the best of care as recommended by the American Diabetes Association and the American Association of Diabetes Educators.
By: Robin Brain
