TheOrange Evil - That depends on whom you ask. The American Diabetes Association recommends that diabetics maintain A1cs below 7% and the American Association of Endocrinologists recommends below 6.5%. By these two metrics, yes.
To me, though, these standards don't make a lot of sense. 6.5% is when diabetes is diagnosed, meaning that blood sugar is high. Why would high blood sugar constitute good management? What's more, your average person without diabetes has an A1c anywhere from 4.6% to 5%, although anything up to 5.6% is considered "normal." 5.7% is when doctors begin warning patients of pre-diabetes - again meaning that blood sugar is elevated. Risk of heart disease goes up in a linear fashion with A1c, so the higher your A1c, the greater your chance of experiencing a cardiovascular event.
In short, most diabetic organizations advise diabetics to stay below very high thresholds. This might be because physicians greatly fear patients dealing with hypoglycemia. If you are diet-and-exercise controlled or just on Metformin, you have a very low chance of ever experiencing serious hypoglycemia. Thus, you should strive to lower your A1c to a more normal level to reduce your chance of CVD and other diabetic complications. An A1c in the 5% range (5% to 5.9%) would be good, and obviously below 5.5% would be even better.
A low-carbohydrate diet can help. My last A1c was 4.9% and I was diagnosed with an A1c over 11%, so it's possible to do it even if you started in a bad place.
buffalo - A1cs are not as good a measure of actual blood sugar control in individuals as they are for groups. An A1c of 5.1% maps to an average blood sugar of 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L) or less when group statistics are analyzed, but normal variations in how our red blood cells work make the A1cs of truly normal individuals fall into a wider range.
Some people's A1cs are always a bit higher than their measured blood sugars would predict. Some are always lower. NOTE: If you are anemic your A1c will read much lower than your actual blood sugars and the resulting A1c is not a useful gauge of your actual blood sugar control.
You are doing quite well. But its better to get into the 5's..
There are 3 key steps to controlling glucose levels for pre diabetes: 1) EXERCISE- Walking is fine but Nordic Walking is Great. Exercise also lowers Glucose levels , lowers Cholesterol and lowers Blood Pressure. Google it.Exercise is Non-Negotiable !!!Thats why it is Number 1 on the list. 2) Knowledge- http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/index.ph… This is a great site for info 3)Diet- A low carb diet is in order. I can't count carbs so I use Mendosa's Glycemic Index Diet. Great for the whole family. http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
I am pretty new at managing my type 2diabetes. I had an A1C done and it was 6.. Is that pretty good?
TheOrange Evil - That depends on whom you ask. The American Diabetes Association recommends that diabetics maintain A1cs below 7% and the American Association of Endocrinologists recommends below 6.5%. By these two metrics, yes.
ReplyDeleteTo me, though, these standards don't make a lot of sense. 6.5% is when diabetes is diagnosed, meaning that blood sugar is high. Why would high blood sugar constitute good management? What's more, your average person without diabetes has an A1c anywhere from 4.6% to 5%, although anything up to 5.6% is considered "normal." 5.7% is when doctors begin warning patients of pre-diabetes - again meaning that blood sugar is elevated. Risk of heart disease goes up in a linear fashion with A1c, so the higher your A1c, the greater your chance of experiencing a cardiovascular event.
In short, most diabetic organizations advise diabetics to stay below very high thresholds. This might be because physicians greatly fear patients dealing with hypoglycemia. If you are diet-and-exercise controlled or just on Metformin, you have a very low chance of ever experiencing serious hypoglycemia. Thus, you should strive to lower your A1c to a more normal level to reduce your chance of CVD and other diabetic complications. An A1c in the 5% range (5% to 5.9%) would be good, and obviously below 5.5% would be even better.
A low-carbohydrate diet can help. My last A1c was 4.9% and I was diagnosed with an A1c over 11%, so it's possible to do it even if you started in a bad place.
buffalo - A1cs are not as good a measure of actual blood sugar control in individuals as they are for groups. An A1c of 5.1% maps to an average blood sugar of 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L) or less when group statistics are analyzed, but normal variations in how our red blood cells work make the A1cs of truly normal individuals fall into a wider range.
ReplyDeleteSome people's A1cs are always a bit higher than their measured blood sugars would predict. Some are always lower. NOTE: If you are anemic your A1c will read much lower than your actual blood sugars and the resulting A1c is not a useful gauge of your actual blood sugar control.
You are doing quite well. But its better to get into the 5's..
There are 3 key steps to controlling glucose levels for pre diabetes:
1) EXERCISE- Walking is fine but Nordic Walking is Great. Exercise also lowers Glucose levels , lowers Cholesterol and lowers Blood Pressure. Google it.Exercise is Non-Negotiable !!!Thats why it is Number 1 on the list.
2) Knowledge- http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/index.ph… This is a great site for info
3)Diet- A low carb diet is in order. I can't count carbs so I use Mendosa's Glycemic Index Diet. Great for the whole family. http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
Take care
Buff
Gary B - 6 is the high-end limit of normal.
ReplyDeleteanything OVER 6need to be corrected.
NORMAL is between 5 and 6