How To Lower Your A1C Levels: A Healthful Guide

How to lower your A1C levels: A healthful guide

An A1C blood test measures average blood sugar levels over the past 2 to 3 months.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommend the use of A1C tests to help diagnose cases of prediabetes, type 1, and type 2 diabetes. A1C tests are also used to monitor diabetes treatment plans.
What is an A1C test?
An A1C test measures how well the body is maintaining blood glucose levels. To do this, an A1C test averages the percentage of sugar-bound hemoglobin in a blood sample.
When glucose enters the blood, it binds to a red blood cell protein called hemoglobin. The higher blood glucose levels are, the more hemoglobin is bound.
Red blood cells live for around 4 months, so A1C results reflect long-term blood glucose levels. A1C tests are done using blood obtained by a finger prick or blood draw.
Physicians will usually repeat A1C tests before diagnosing diabetes. Initial A1C tests help physicians work out an individual's baseline A1C level for later comparison.
How often A1C tests are required after diagnosis varies depending on the type of diabetes and management factors.
Lowering A1C levels
Many studies have shown that lowering A1C levels can help reduce the risk or intensity of diabetes complications.
With type 1 diabetes, more controlled blood glucose levels are associated with reduced rates of disease progression. With type 2 diabetes, more controlled A1C levels have also been shown to reduce symptoms affecting the small arteries and nerves in the body. This influences eyesight and pain while decreasing complications.
Long-term studies have also shown that early and intensive bl Continue reading

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Why is My Blood Sugar High After Exercise?

When you have the excess of glucose in your bloodstream that does not get absorbed by the insulin secreted by your body, the condition is known as diabetes. Diabetes can lead to severe consequences like degeneration of internal organs, but if treated at an early stage will cure quickly.
Why it is that blood sugar level increases after you exercise?
If your body triggers low amount of insulin, then the presence of other hormones like epinephrine, norepinephrine, cortisol, glucagon will collectively trigger the liver to release the glucose into the blood and thereby increases the blood sugar. The hormones influence the breakdown of fat into smaller and simpler particles.
The other thought process says that the hormones trigger the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream while exercising. The level of hormones in the bloodstream may result from glucose to enter the blood.
For people who are not athletes, high-intensity exercise is not required for controlling blood glucose level. In fact, more easy and light exercise will work if preferred. The high-level activity might result in muscle injury and other fatal consequences.
What tips should I follow while exercising, so that to keep my blood sugar under control?
If you have settled your mind for exercise, there are some considerations that you must follow.
Think about all the enjoyable activities you did in the past. Yoga, swimming, dancing, gardening, jumping, and kickboxing (might be). Anything that will raise your heart rate will do well. Continue the practice of these activities.
Let your doctor know when and what exe Continue reading

Exercise for Diabetes Control

By the dLife Editors
In case you haven’t heard: Exercise is really good for people with type 2 diabetes. It helps control blood sugar levels, increases energy levels, improves heart health, and promotes emotional well-being. Barring other medical complications, the majority of people with diabetes can and should exercise for diabetes control and for better overall health and well-being.
How does exercise lower blood sugar?
Exercise lowers blood sugar in two ways:
First, exercise increases insulin sensitivity. This means that your cells are better able to use available insulin to absorb sugar from the bloodstream to be used as energy for your body.
Second, exercise stimulates another mechanism that allows your muscles to absorb and use sugar for energy, even without insulin.
Not only does exercise lower blood sugar levels in the short term, but exercising over time also contributes to lower A1C levels over time.
How important is exercise?
Leading a sedentary (or inactive) lifestyle is one of the major risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, and the high incidence of obesity and overweight among people with type 2 is also highly correlated with inactivity. Starting a workout program can lower body mass and consequently decrease the insulin resistance of type 2 diabetes; studies have shown that people with type 2 diabetes who exercise regularly have better A1c profiles than those who don’t. Along with medical nutrition therapy, exercise is one of the first lines of defense in type 2 diabetes control.
In addition, exercise is a key tool in preventing one of the leading Continue reading

Type 1 Diabetes in Adults: Can It Be Prevented?

Type 1 diabetes used to be called juvenile-onset diabetes, meaning it starts in childhood. But new studies show Type 1 is frequently being diagnosed in adults as well.
A study at Exeter University in the United Kingdom found that adults are as likely as children to develop Type 1 diabetes. More than 40% of Type 1 diabetes cases occur after the age of 30, but many are misdiagnosed as Type 2.
What’s the difference?
Both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes limit our bodies’ ability to use carbohydrate foods. In the body, carbohydrates break down into a sugar called glucose, which is our cells’ main source of energy.
Normally, we need the hormone called insulin to transport glucose into the cells of the body. In Type 1 diabetes, the body no longer produces much insulin. The insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas have been destroyed. Immune cells, usually GAD (glutamic acid decarboxylase) antibodies, or sometimes other antibodies, have attacked them.
The reason for the attack is unknown. People with Type 1 diabetes are dependent on injected or infused insulin to get glucose into their cells to stay alive. This “autoimmune” destruction of cells usually happens to children, but we now know it can happen at any age.
In Type 2 diabetes, the body still produces insulin, but the body’s cells don’t cooperate with it. They have become “insulin resistant,” meaning the body needs extra insulin to maintain normal blood sugar levels.
Type 2 used to be called “adult-onset diabetes” or “non-insulin dependent diabetes.” Those names are now outdated. People age 10 and you Continue reading

What Really Causes Type 2 Diabetes

Learn Which Risk Factors Are Preventable
Contrary to popular belief, type 2 diabetes (a chronic disease) isn’t caused by eating lots of sweets. Actually, the cause is still unknown, but there are certain factors that are known to increase a person’s risk of developing this metabolic disorder. There are two main categories of risks that are associated with the development of type 2 diabetes—those that you can't change (uncontrollable), and those that you can (controllable). The more risk factors you have, the higher your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Uncontrollable Risk Factors
Although these factors are out of your control, it is important to know whether you fall into any of these higher-risk categories.
Your age. Your risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases as you get older. Diabetes most often affects people over age 40, and people over 65 are at even higher risk. It is recommended that people aged 45 and older be tested for diabetes every three years.
Your family history. There is some evidence that diabetes runs in families. If your parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes, for example, your risk of developing diabetes increases.
Your race. Certain ethnicities—African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islander Americans—are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Your health history. Women who had gestational diabetes during pregnancy are 50% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years. Giving birth to a baby over nine pounds also increases a woman's risk. Other illnesses and conditio Continue reading