Do you know your A1c?

Know your A1c!! 

The “Hemoglobin A1c” is a blood test your health care practitioner can easily do to see if you have any problems with your blood sugar. It is a test that shows your “average’ blood sugar over the last 3 months. It takes into consideration your blood sugar when you are not eating (such as first thing in the morning) and after you’ve just eaten a meal. The more sugar, carbohydrates and starches you eat daily, the more your blood glucose may rise. Of course, all of this is dependent upon how sensitive to insulin you are.

As we age, we see a tendency towards higher blood glucose, mainly because of insulin resistance. The more you are exposed to insulin (such as if you are eating a lot of sugar, carbs and starches every day) the more resistance to insulin you may become. The main driver of insulin resistance is the development of “belly fat”.

If you find that your A1c result is 5.7% or higher, that means that your body is having a hard time keeping your blood sugar in the normal range. This is likely due to the development of resistance to insulin. So why should you be concerned?

If you just ignore the A1c 5.7% or higher, you will continue to be resistant to insulin, which will likely lead to the development of Type 2 Diabetes. You really don’t want that! Some people say, “but there’s great medications to take care of this, right?” That may be true, but eventually, you will become resistant to them too!! Remember…

“Anything you are exposed to enough, you will eventually become to resist”

If your A1c is 5.7% or higher, you really, really want to avoid continuing on the road to Type 2 Diabetes. You must STOP EATING SUGARS, HIGH GLYCEMIC INDEX CARBOHYDRATES AND STARCHES or you will most certainly develop diabetes and all the problems that are associated with that:

1. Belly fat that is very difficult to get rid of

2. Lots of medications that will eventually stop working

3. Fatigue, brain fog, numbness/tingling in your feet, lack of energy

4. Problems with your eyes, kidneys and heart

5. Lots and lots of doctors

6. Lots of money spent on doctors and medications

7. Lots of disease

Diabetes remained the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2010 with over 69,000 death certificates listing diabetes as the underlying cause of death. A total of 234,000 death certificates list diabetes as underlying or contributing factor towards death. And diabetes is rarely the only diagnosis. Diabetes often goes hand-in-hand with cardiovascular disease, hypertension and peripheral vascular disease. And this is all too common due to late recognition of a rising A1c.

So I say, know your A1c and INSIST on getting the information you need to reverse this downward trend in your health. Preserve your health and restore it with a healthy lifestyle.