At an annual physical or checkup your doctor may order a fasting
blood sugar (FBS) test, or an
oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to help
determine whether you have diabetes. What do these tests mean?
Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS)
A fasting blood sugar of 70 mg/dl (3.8 mmol/l) to 99 mg/dl (5.5
mmol/l) is normal.
If your fasting blood sugar level comes back between 100 mg/dl (5.5
mmol/l) and 125 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/l)
then you are considered to
have
impaired fasting glucose or pre-diabetes.
A fasting glucose higher than 125 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/l) indicates that
you have type 2 diabetes.
Most doctors like to get a fasting blood sugar on two separate occasions to make sure of the diagnosis.
The OGTT is a glucose challenge test. You are given a drink that
contains 75 grams of glucose (sugar).
Two hours later another blood
sample is
drawn to check your glucose level.
If your blood sugar is
under 140 mg/dl (7.7 mmol/l), then your glucose tolerance is considered
normal.
If it is 140 mg/dl (7.0 mmol/l) to 200 mg/dl (11 mmol/l), then
you have impaired glucose tolerance or prediabetes.
If your glucose is
over
200 mg/dl (11 mmol/l) then a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is made.
The unit of measurement for blood sugar is varies around the world.
In the United States,
the standard is milligrams per deciliter or mg/dl.
In other countries, blood sugar may be measured in millimoles/liter or
mmol/l.
Here is a quick conversion chart courtesy of
Usenet and FAQS.org
4.0 mmol/l = 75 mg/dl
5.5 mmol/l = 100 mg/dl
5 - 6 mmol/l = 90-110 mg/dl
8.0 mmol/l = 150 mg/dl
10.0 mmol/l = 180 mg/dl
11.0 mmol/l = 200 mg/dl
Conversion
:
Canadian/Australian Units vs
Indian as
follows:
CLICK
HERE:
to have the
calculation done for you :
Conversion
: Canadian/Australian vs
Indian units
or
1mmol/L =18 mg/dl for
Conversion from mmol/L
(Canadian/Australian
Units) to mg/dl (Indian Units)
"Bookmark" this site before
visiting links !
NEWSLETTER
Information on Diabetes
Receive our FREE Reports ("Prevent or Treat
diabetes") OR Subscribe to the
NEWSLETTER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HOME PAGE
Diagnosed with Diabetes ?
At Risk of getting Diabetes?
What's next
?
Diet
Lifestyle
changes !
Exercise
Education
Health Checkups
!
Monitoring Glucose
Others ?????
Some things to know
about......
See this site
for helpful information.
Blood Sugars –
Fasting
After Meals Glucose
Blood Sugar- How to Lower
How to lower HbA1c
Blood Sugar- Effect of Meals on HbA1c
Blood Sugars – Testing
Blood Sugar Levels - Before and after meals
Blood Sugars- Normal People and disruption
Glycemic Index
Avoiding organ damage
Carbs
Carbs – Addiction
Carbs Information
Facts About Carbohydrates in Food
Cardiovascular Risk
Heart and Blood Vessels
Causes of Diabetes
Deterioration
Diet
Hunger & Carbs
Which fats to use
Dietary Fiber
Exercise
Feet
HbA1c - Ideal value
Insulin resistance
Fats
Footcare Habits
Foot Problems
Stress
Food Labels
Smoking
Obesity and Insulin Resistance
Products
Reversing or Minimising Damage
Risk
Heart Attack
Supplements
Support for Diabetes
Health Testing
The Future
Weight loss
More on Exercise......
Extract........
Diet and exercise are the basis of good diabetes management. In fact,
many patients can be controlled quite adequately
with diet and exercise changes alone. Unfortunately, with the
introduction of of insulin and oral tablets, the role played by exercise
went
into down, but it is only now emerging again. After all, if the patient
can be controlled with the use of insulin or an oral agent (tablet),
why make the patient exercise? Today, the picture seems to have changed
radically and exercise has again come center stage.
A regular program of exercise not only helps in correcting many of
metabolic abnormalities associated with diabetes,
but also makes the person a much more fitter and healthier person.
Exercise decreases the blood sugar levels
(and it does this even without any change in the weight of the patient),
it leads to an increase in insulin sensitivity,
decreases the levels of bad triglycerides and the bad LDL-cholesterol,
whilst increasing the 'good' HDL-cholesterol values.
The energy spent during the exercise also contributes to the weight
reduction of an overweight patient.
Check with your doctor before starting
exercise program !
The
following advice
(From Blood Sugar 101 Site - Diabetes Site),
adapted from a page posted at
http://alt-support-diabetes.org/newlydiagnosed.htm
has
helped thousands of people with Type 2 diabetes
achieve normal blood sugars, no matter how high
their blood sugars were when they started out.
The chart shows
blood sugar should be
Fasting
blood sugar under
100 mg/dl =
5.5 mmol/L
One
hour after meals under
140 mg/dl =
7.8 mmol/L
Two hours after
meals under
120 mg/dl =
6.7 mmol/L
Conversion : Canadian/Australian Units vs
Indian as follows:
CLICK
HERE:
to have the
calculation done for you : Conversion
: Canadian/Australian vs
Indian units
or
1mmol/L =18 mg/dl for
Conversion from mmol/L (Canadian/Australian
Units) to mg/dl (Indian Units)
How Can
Type 2 Diabetics Recover From Their Illness? How To regain normal blood sugar values
....requires....... Guidelines Toward Recovery From Type 2 Diabetes A
glucose meter will be needed to monitor response to therapy.
When interpreting your results, take your premeal readings into account
since you are interested in
not just your after-meal
reading but also in
how much your blood sugar level increased because
of your food intake
It used to be said that having diabetes aged people an additional 20
years. Today, thanks to better
tools for managing diabetes and
preventing and treating its complications, people with diabetes
have the
opportunity to live longer than ever before.
It used to be said that having diabetes aged people an additional 20
years. Today, thanks to better
tools for managing diabetes and
preventing and treating its complications, people with diabetes
have the
opportunity to live longer than ever before.
Tightly controlling your blood sugar
levels soon after being diagnosed with Type
2 diabetes can
lead to lower risks of
diabetes complications—including heart
disease and death—years later.
Blood Sugar Control - Mechanisms - How it Works--And How It Stops
Working To understand what happens as your blood sugar deteriorates from normal
to pre-diabetes, and finally,
to full-fledged
diabetes you need to first
understand how blood sugar control works in a normal body.
Let's look at
that now.
Blood Sugar
Blood Sugar Control- Normal Person The key to understanding blood sugar control is to understand the role
played by special cells
called Beta-Cells. These tiny
cells are
scattered through an organ called the
pancreas which is
located just under your stomach. The job of the beta cell
is to produce
insulin, store it,
and release it into the blood stream at appropriate
times.
White Flour Carbs Sugary carbs, especially table sugar (sucrose),
used to be seen as causing adverse health
effects for
diabetics and people with
symptoms
of impaired glucose tolerance or insulin
insensitivity.
Although a high sugar diet can
cause problems for these groups,
most
nutritionists now view refined white flour foods
(most of which have a high GI-value)
as causing
more glycemic
health problems, such as insulin
resistance e, and digestive disorders.
Tight control
means getting as close to a normal (nondiabetic) blood
sugar level as you safely can.
Ideally, this means levels between 70 mg/dl (3.8 mmol/l)
and 130 mg/dl before meals (7.2 mmol/L),
and less than 180 (10mmol/L) two hours after starting a
meal, with a glycated hemoglobin (A1C) level
less than 7 percent. The target number for glycated
hemoglobin will vary depending on the type of test your
doctor's laboratory uses.
In real life, you should set your goals with your
doctor. Keeping a normal level all the time is not
practical.
And it's not needed to get results.
Every bit you
lower your blood sugar level helps to prevent
complications.
Living with tight control
To get tight control, you must do the following:
Pay more
attention to your diet and exercise.
Measure
your blood sugar levels more often.
If you take insulin, change how much you use and
your injection schedule.
By Richard
R. Rubin, PhD, CDE, ADA's Past-President, Health Care & Education
Tip 1: Learn about diabetes. Tip 2: Understand your loved one's diabetes. Tip 3: Find out what your loved one really needs. Tip 4: Offer the help your loved one asks for. Tip 5: Talk about your feelings. Tip 6: Get help. Tip 7: Get started
About NCCAM The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
is the USA's Federal
Government's lead agency
for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems,
practices,
and products that are not generally considered
part of conventional
medicine.
10
Things To Know About Evaluating Medical Resources on the Web
There is now substantial evidence that type 2 diabetes can beprevented or delayed. Individuals at
high risk of developingdiabetes
(those with pre-diabetes) can be identified easily. It is not yet known whether the successful interventions willcost-effectively reduce
the morbidity and mortality associatedwith diabetes. Diabetes prevention policies that
focus on
lifestylemodification, specifically
modest weight loss and
increasedphysical activity,
are also very likely to have
additional healthbenefits.
Do People with Type 2 Always Deteriorate? Why doctors believe this
toxic myth.
The single most dangerous idea you are likely to encounter
as you begin your struggle to live a
healthy life with diabetes is the
belief
that science has proven, beyond a doubt,
that no matter what you
do, your Type 2 Diabetes will get worse.
Whether you are newly diagnosed or simply in need of more
information about diabetes,
this website – created by UCSF's
Diabetes
Teaching Center – can help. Diabetes management
is
a lifestyle, and while we understand it is not a lifestyle
that you would have
chosen, it is one that you can master to
stay healthy.
Example of a herbal product. Contains various herbs, vitamins
and minerals
Gymnema Sylvestre Powder has been suggested in studies
to have a promising ability to
promote healthy circulating insulin
balance and
serum lipid and triglyceride balance.
Magnesium has a broad positive effect on overall health
and insulin sensitivity.
Licorice Bark Extract
has been suggested in studies to be effective against unhealthy blood
sugar.
Zinc
deficiencies can result in hair loss, diarrhea and skin lesions and
could adversely affect eyesight,
taste, smell, and memory function.
Chromium has
been shown in studies to improve glucose and lipid effects.
Cinnamon Bark Powder
has been shown in studies to promote healthy blood sugar balance.
Banaba Leaf Extract
has been shown in pre-clinical studies to support healthy cholesterol
balance and
support the rate of glucose uptake.
These studies further
suggested banaba contains insulin-like actions.
Vitamin C
plays an important role in glucose metabolism and oxidative stress on
the body systems.
Vitamin E
promotes healthy insulin action, metabolic control, and endothelial
function.
Bitter Melon Fruit
Extract has been shown in preliminary studies to contain
insulin-like properties.
Guggul Extract
has been used for thousands of years to address illness, cholesterol and
obesity.
It contains antioxidant, anti-swelling and
hypolipidemic
properties.
Alpha Lipoic Acid
fights against oxidative damage to the lungs and vascular system.
It can
also support healthy peripheral insulin sensitivity,
insulin function,
and healthy blood sugar balance
Diet
Choosing a
healthy lifestyle can help you improve your
health and reduce your risk of heart disease
and
diabetes.
Healthy lifestyles include eating a healthy
diet, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising
regularly,
quitting smoking (or not starting),
and minimizing stress. (Note: Specific guidance
for maintaining a
healthy lifestyle may change
over time as new scientific recommendations
become available.) Learn more about each of the
factors that affect your lifestyle.
Excess body fat leads to health
problems such as type 2 diabetes, high
blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Health professionals use a
measurement called body mass index (BMI)
to classify an adult's weight as
healthy,
overweight, or obese.
BMI
describes body weight relative to height
and is correlated with total body fat
content in most adults.
Having excess abdominal body fat is
also a health risk. Men with a waist of
more than 40 inches around and
women
with a waist
of 35 inches or
more are at
risk for health problems.
More than 60 percent of U.S. adults
are either overweight or obese,
according to the Centers for Disease
Control and
Prevention (CDC). While the number of overweight people has been
slowly climbing
since the 1980s, the
number of obese adults has nearly
doubled since then.
Excess weight and physical inactivity
account for more than 300,000 premature
deaths each
year in the United States,
second only to deaths
related to
smoking, says the CDC. People who are
overweight or obese are more likely to
develop heart disease, stroke,
high
blood pressure,
diabetes, gallbladder
disease and joint pain
caused by excess
uric acid (gout). Excess weight can also
cause interrupted
breathing during sleep
(sleep apnea) and wearing away of the
joints (osteoarthritis).
To lose weight, you must eat less and
move more. Your body needs to burn more
calories than you take in.
Exercise improves heart function, lowers blood pressure and blood
cholesterol, helps manage
diabetes, and
helps
control weight.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute (NHLBI) at NIH recommends that
adults get
at least 30 minutes of
moderate physical activity on
most days
of the week.
Talk to your doctor about what forms
of exercise are best for you.
For more information about exercise
and physical fitness, see:
Choosing a
healthy lifestyle can help you improve your
health and reduce your risk of heart disease
and
diabetes.
Minimize Stress The link between stress and coronary
heart disease is not entirely clear.
However, people who have too much stress
or who have
unhealthy responses to
stress may
be at greater risk of having
coronary heart disease.
Facts about stress and coronary heart
disease:
Stress speeds up
the heart rate.
People with heart
disease are more likely to have a
heart attack during times of stress.
People sometimes
respond to stress with unhealthy
habits such as smoking or eating
salty or high-fat foods.
Tightly controlling your
blood sugar levels soon after being diagnosed
with Type 2 diabetes
can lead to lower risks of
diabetes complications—
including heart disease and death—years
later.
Heart and
Blood Vessels
Education- NDEP Control diabetes by controlling glucose, blood pressure,
and cholesterol
Nearly
65 percent of people with diabetes will die from
a heart attack or stroke;
because of a lack of available information, two
out of three people with diabetes are unaware
of their heightened risk.
In order for those with
diabetes to stay heart healthy, having the most
up-to-date information is crucial.
Now, there's a place where people can go for the
latest resources that can help them control
their diabetes,
as well as monitor their blood pressure and
cholesterol levels.
When those with diabetes take
steps to also ensure good cardiovascular health,
they can live long, healthy lives.
The
National Diabetes Education Program is a federally
funded program sponsored by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services'
National Institutes of Health and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and
includes over 200 partners at
the federal, state, and local levels, working
together to reduce the morbidity and
mortality associated with diabetes.
Group with Fasting
blood sugar of 110-124 mg/dl or 6.1-6.9
mmol/L had the same cardiovascular
and metabolic syndrome incidence as
people with diabetes in the following study:
Group with Fasting
blood sugar of 110-124 mg/dl or 6.1-6.9
mmol/L had the same
cardiovascular and metabolic syndrome
incidence as people with diabetes in the following study:
To learn more about the
diabetic food pyramid visit
http://www.diabetes-diabetic-diet-plans.com
,
a popular website devoted to
help
people with diabetes live a healthier
life. The website provides
tips on
diabetic food, cooking and diet
plans, as well as
information several
complications
associated with the
disease.
Diabetic Food
The diabetic food pyramid
outlines in detail what those suffering from the disease
should eat,
and what they should avoid.
You'll find
lots
of starches, grains and breads on the pyramid that was
first released by the USDA in 2005.
And if you're
looking for recipes, they can be found practically
everywhere you look.
Search the internet, open a book,
magazine or
newspaper, or just turn on the television
and you'll
no doubt find more tasty recipes than you
could ever hope to try.
A quick trip to the public
library
will add even more treats to your list.
The main thing that needs to be avoided is sugars,
and given how tempting many desserts
can be this is
harder than it seems.
Those with
a mild case of diabetes
might be able to grab a nibble of sugared foods on
occasion,
but not too often. Those with moderate to
severe cases of
diabetes should avoid them completely.
Foods
high in water and fiber, like fruits and
vegetables , are the so-called high-volume
foods.
They add bulk to your meals and help
fill
your stomach.
High-Water,
High-Fiber Foods Help Curb Hunger. Lean Protein
Can Reduce Hunger
Graftjacket. This treatment helps our body to repair the wound
quickly by providing immediate
coverage to the wound and a way to
rebuild the area of
missing tissue
The Glycemic Index On-line,
the University of Sydney's GI Website, is a comprehensive and
authoritative guide
to the glycemic index.
Dr. Jennie
Brand-Miller, who authorized me to summarize her work in 1995 or
1996,
finally has a Web
presence in November 2000.
And what a
presence it is! Her site is now the key Internet resource on
this subject.
The URL is http://www.glycemicindex.com
Here's another excellent glycemic index resource for
athletes. Cycling Performance Tips:
Glycemic Index shows
how
athletes can make
use of the glycemic index. The URL is http://www.cptips.com/gi.htm
Type 2 diabetes can sometimes be turned around with
weight loss, a healthy diet and exercise.
If your
doctor feels that is the case,
then positive
lifestyle changes that help you lose the excess
weight,
and regular daily exercise may be enough.
With medication or not,
diabetes still requires a
healthy diet and physical activity for optimum
health.
Medications are usually prescribed in addition to
lifestyle changes. The medications work in
different
ways but their effect
is to lower
blood sugar and
help the body's own insulin become
more effective.
If oral medications are not enough,
insulin
injections may be used to
help
gain control of
glucose levels.
A diagnosis of diabetes can really derail your lifestyle. All of a
sudden, there are a lot of new things
to learn and many changes
that
have to take place. Where do you start?
David Kinshuck, Pat Lamb, Urmilla Griffiths (Pat & Urmila: diabetes
specialist nurses, Good Hope Hospital)
Embrace your diabetes
Learning how to control type 2
diabetes...take control
What is happening in type 2 diabetes
First, there is a shortage of insulin
Second, there is insulin resistance.
Third, there are genes
These factors combine to cause type 2
diabetes
Pattern of progression
At the beginning of type 2 diabetes a healthy diet may
be sufficient to lower the sugar and keep the HbA1c below 7%
Later, metformin is needed.
Later still, add Exanatide if overweight or other drug.
Later still insulin may be required
Testing you sugar/glucose level
See
testing.
If you 'embrace' your diabetes, you will gradually learn to control it
and achieve an
HbA1c of 7% or below.
But to
do this, you need to check to see your
fasting
blood sugar levels are
72-126 mg/dl (4 - 7 mmol/l) (when you
wake up)
test your
blood sugar levels before meals between
72-126 mg/dl (4 - 7 mmol/l)
remember, you still need tablets if you are ill; if you
are being sick or cannot swallow the tablets,
|let your
doctor
or nurse know.
occasionally test after meals (preferred levels less
than 180 mg/dl (10 mmol/l)
To achieve very good control (HbA1c 6.5-7.0%) you need a
fasting pre-breakfast glucose
less than 99 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/l), pre-meal levels at other
times less than 108 mg/dl (6.0 mmol/l) and
after-meal levels
(2 hours after a meal) less than 141 mg/dl (8.0 mmol/l).
These levels cannot be achieved in all patients..but if
you are well and are prepared to stick to a healthy
diet and
exercise your medication should be adjusted to achieve these
levels, even if that
means starting insulin.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
conducts and supports
research, trains CAM researchers,
and provides
information about CAM
Diabetes is a condition where people don't produce enough insulin to
meet their body's needs or
their cells don't respond properly
to
insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is mainly caused by insulin resistance.
Symptoms
Treatment
Frequent measurement of
blood sugar levels is the best way to know whether blood sugar
levels are in the target range.
This is easily
done at home with a blood sugar monitor.
By
Dr Michael Hutch PhD
