A1C, or hemoglobin A1c, is a blood test that measures your average blood sugar levels over the past 2-3 months. It's often used to diagnose and monitor diabetes, but what exactly does it mean? To understand how A1C relates to blood sugar levels, let's dive into the details.
The Connection Between Blood Sugar Levels and A1C
When you eat, your body converts carbohydrates into glucose (sugar), which is then absorbed into your bloodstream. Normally, insulin helps regulate this process by facilitating glucose uptake in cells throughout your body. However, if you have diabetes or impaired insulin function, excess glucose builds up in the blood instead of being used for energy.
A1C measures the percentage of hemoglobin molecules that are bound to sugar (glucose). This test gives healthcare providers an idea of how well your body is managing blood sugar levels over time. The American Diabetes Association recommends that adults with diabetes aim for an A1C level below 7%. Those without diagnosed diabetes should strive for a result between 4-6%.
Why Blood Sugar Levels Matter
High blood sugar levels can lead to serious health complications, such as nerve damage (neuropathy), kidney disease, and heart disease. On the other hand, low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) can cause shakiness, dizziness, and even seizures.
To achieve optimal A1C results and prevent these issues, it's essential to maintain a healthy balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber-rich foods, fruits, vegetables whole grains. Regular physical activity also plays an important role in blood sugar control by increasing insulin sensitivity.
Maintaining Blood Sugar Balance
Incorporating exercises such as brisk walking cycling swimming strength training into your daily routine can significantly enhance glucose uptake and improve overall health results even without weight loss stress management through practices like yoga tai chi or meditation mindfulness journaling also has been shown to lower A1C levels reduce blood pressure.
Managing Daily Fluctuations
Elevated morning cortisol production due high-fat diets late-night snacking irregular meal times could cause unstable daily fluctuations. Monitoring techniques such as glucometer continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) help identify patterns understand how different foods impact your body optimize treatment strategies minimize side effects maintain overall well-being.
Practical Ways to Stabilize Your Blood Sugar Levels
Blood sugar levels fluctuate throughout the day, influenced by various factors like diet exercise stress sleep quality. Some tips that can be of great benefit include:
Eating smaller meals more frequently
Incorporating fiber-rich foods into your diet (fruits, vegetables whole grains)
Limiting processed and sugary food intake
Staying hydrated to prevent dehydration-induced blood sugar imbalances
Be blessed,
Team NutritionScience.in
#BeYourOwnDoc #LifestyleMedicine #NutritionScience
Dr. Achyuthan Eswar
Disclaimer:
Video Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult a Physician.
Why do Diabetic Patients Feel Tired?
To understand this
Let’s look at the cellular process of diabetes.
When you consume food
The glucose from the food
gets absorbed into the blood
And is transported to every cell in the body.
Our cells absorb glucose
Push it into their mitochondria
The powerhouse of the cells
Where the glucose is burnt
to produce energy.
As long as these
mitochondria are functioning well
They are able to produce
enough energy at the cellular level
To keep us active
and energetic throughout the day.
But if they get damaged,
Then no matter how much glucose we eat
The cells are simply not going to be does benadryl raise blood sugar levels able
To produce energy for themselves.
In diabetes, what happens is that
The fat that is accumulated
inside our muscle cells
That causes oxidative damage
inside the cells
That is No.1
No. 2. Glycoproteins.
The high blood sugar
Causes glucose to get bound to proteins
And they start generating free radicals.
They suppress the body’s ability
to neutralize free radicals
With the enzymes like
superoxide dismutase
and other antioxidants
And then start inflicting
damage to the cells
Surrounding these molecules.
The mitochondria are particularly
susceptible to oxidative stress
And when they get damaged
They are unable to produce the energy
that the cells need in order to function.
So, although you low blood sugar chart level have a lot of sugar
in your blood
Very little of it gets
inside the cells in the first place
And even that may not reach
your mitochondria
Because it is damaged
So, it’s a case of a lot of fuel
But not being able to use it
to produce energy.
If you want to derive energy
from the fuel in your food
Then what you need to do
Is to repair the damage
caused to the mitochondria
Is to reverse the changes
at the cellular level
that causes diabetes.
Bring your body back to a state of health
Improving its ability to
produce energy from glucose
The easy way to do this
Is through a whole food plant-based diet
Which has been proven
to reverse diabetes
To bring back sugar levels back to normal
to reduce triglycerides after your meals
To reduce cholesterol levels
And to reduce your HbA1C levels
To such an extent
That it is possible to
Easily prevent, treat, and in many cases,
Even reverse diabetes
Like my own Grandmother did
When she switched from a regular Indian diet
To a Whole Food Plant-based Diet.
Her energy levels went through the roof
In a matter of weeks
She felt so much better
She felt much low blood sugar breakfast more active throughout the day
She felt less tired throughout the night
Like she used to before
I hope this helps you
To get your energy levels back to normal as well
Be Blessed!
Dr. Achyuthan Eswar.
Founder, NutritionScience.in
Disclaimer:
Video Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please consult a Physician.
