How Is Diabetes Diagnosed
The fasting blood glucose test is the preferred way to diagnose diabetes. It is easy to perform and convenient. After the person has fasted overnight , a single sample of blood is drawn and sent to the laboratory for analysis. This can also be done accurately in a doctor’s office using a glucose meter.
- Normal fasting plasma glucose levels are less than 100 milligrams per deciliter .
- Fasting plasma glucose levels of more than 126 mg/dl on two or more tests on different days indicate diabetes.
- A random blood glucose test can also be used to diagnose diabetes. A blood glucose level of 200 mg/dl or higher indicates diabetes.
When fasting blood glucose stays above 100mg/dl, but in the range of 100-126mg/dl, this is known as impaired fasting glucose . While patients with IFG or prediabetes do not have the diagnosis of diabetes, this condition carries with it its own risks and concerns, and is addressed elsewhere.
The oral glucose tolerance test
For the test to give reliable results:
- The person must be in good health .
- The person should be normally active , and
- The person should not be taking medicines that could affect the blood glucose.
- The morning of the test, the person should not smoke or drink coffee.
Evaluating the results of the oral glucose tolerance test
Glucose tolerance tests may lead to one of the following diagnoses:
Blood Sugar Lowering Activities That Will Do The Trick Immediately
If youre experiencing a post-meal high , I recommend a brisk walk or living room dance-off, accompanied by plenty of fluid.
What you want to achieve is an increased heart rate that stays up for a period of time. This type of activity is called steady-state cardio and will typically lower blood sugars pretty quickly. Most people I have worked with see an impact already after 15-20 minutes, but it really depends on you, your blood sugar level, and your insulin sensitivity.
I usually recommend a brisk walk, but it can be whatever activity works for you, as long as it raises your heart rate. If its pouring rain or snowing outside, you can walk or dance around the house instead .
If you have limited mobility, it might be something as simple as standing up and sitting down several times in a row or simply fluttering your legs while seated. Work with what you got!
I think you get my point by now, just move, and get your heart rate up!
I also mentioned hydration, which is a critical component. Most people forget to get enough water throughout the day, and being dehydrated does not help when it comes to lowering blood sugars. So make sure to drink enough, even if you live in a cold climate.
Preventing High Blood Sugars
Everyone with diabetes experiences high blood sugars sometimes there are simply too many variables in the human body out of your control to prevent them altogether.
That being said, there are a few guidelines we can all follow to minimize the frequency of high blood sugars:
- Avoid full-sugar beverages including soda, juice, coffee drinks, iced tea, etc.
- Choose your carbohydrates carefully starchy carbs from pasta, candy, bread, desserts, etc. will spike your blood sugar the most
- Take your medications as prescribed and contact your healthcare team if you miss a dose to determine if you can take it late
- Exercise daily even a 20-minute walk makes a big difference on a daily basis
- Drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration
And of course, if youre experiencing high blood sugars are a daily basis and youre unsure of the cause, talk to your healthcare team about making adjustments in your diabetes management regimen. A slight increase in your medications can have a big impact!
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Get Trendy With Apple Cider Vinegar
If you do a quick Google search, youll see that apple cider vinegar is good for pretty much everything. You can use it to tone your skin, clean your pipes, and possibly lower your blood sugar!
A clinical review found that taking ACV daily could reduce blood glucose levels. Unfortunately, most of the trials were very small and some had mixed results.
But since youve probably got it in your house anyway, try taking a swig or two before meals, testing yourself, and seeing if a little ACV shot works for you .
How Do I Lower My Blood Sugar Level If I Have Gestational Pregnancy
A little more than 9.2% of pregnant women have gestational diabetes. It is very common that all women are tested during their pregnancy. If you havent yet, bring it up to your physicians attention. The cause is really unknown, but doctors believe that it is because the extra hormones that are released during pregnancy hinder the insulin sensitivity and increase the need for more insulin. It is very important to keep blood sugar levels under control because high blood sugars can lead to complications such as:
- Premature labor
- Pre-eclampsia which can lead to seizures
- Increased risk of the mother to develop type 2 diabetes later in life
Lowering blood sugar with gestational diabetes is a lot like the other ways mentioned above.
They include:
Breastfeeding after the baby is born is a great way to lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life as well as providing many benefits for the baby. Read this article / that I wrote about all of the benefits of breastfeeding.
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Why Do I Need Sugar In My Blood
If you are looking for ways how to bring blood sugar down, here are 7 foods that help lower your blood sugar effectively. Blood sugar comes from food. Its your bodys main source of energy. These sugars are carried to the cells throughout your body by your blood, providing them with the energy they need to function optimally.
Try this 60 Second Trick To Reverse Type 2 Diabetes
For a person with diabetes or pre-diabetes, their body does not effectively regulate blood sugars. This causes levels to become either too high or too low. Long term, frequent high blood sugar can lead to a number of serious health complications. Kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, vision impairment, joint damage, are just a few. Learning to regulate your blood sugar, as well as how to lower high blood sugar, is essential for your health. It is important to know how to bring blood sugar down once it has gotten too high.
What Can Cause Low Blood Sugar Levels
Some things that can make low blood sugar levels more likely are:
- skipping meals and snacks
- not eating enough food during a meal or snack
- exercising longer or harder than usual without eating some extra food
- getting too much insulin
- not timing the insulin doses properly with meals, snacks, and exercise
Also, some things may increase how quickly insulin gets absorbed into the bloodstream and can make hypoglycemia more likely. These include:
- taking a hot shower or bath right after having an insulin injection increases blood flow through the blood vessels in the skin, which can make the insulin be absorbed more quickly than usual
- injecting the shot into a muscle instead of the fatty layer under the skin
- injecting the insulin into a part of the body used a lot in a particular sport .
All of these situations increase the chances that a person may get hypoglycemia.
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What Are The Risks Of Hyperglycemia
Hyperglycemia can be a sign that your body isnt getting enough insulin. It is normal for patients with T1D to get hyperglycemia, and most of the time this is simply treated with insulin. If the body does not have insulin for approximately 8 hours, you could develop a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA.
In DKA, your body breaks down fat for energy because it doesnt have enough insulin to use the sugar in your blood. This produces chemicals called ketones, which make your blood more acidic.
DKA is dangerous. Too much acid in your blood can make you pass out or even cause death.
What Else Can I Do To Help Manage My Blood Sugar Levels
Eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, and getting regular physical activity can all help. Other tips include:
- Keep track of your blood sugar levels to see what makes them go up or down.
- Eat at regular times, and dont skip meals.
- Choose foods lower in calories, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, and salt.
- Track your food, drink, and physical activity.
- Drink water instead of juice or soda.
- Limit alcoholic drinks.
- For a sweet treat, choose fruit.
- Control your food portions .
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What Are The Acute Complications Of Diabetes
Acute complications of type 2 diabetes
In patients with type 2 diabetes, stress, infection, and medications can also lead to severely elevated blood sugar levels. Accompanied by dehydration, severe blood sugar elevation in patients with type 2 diabetes can lead to an increase in blood osmolality . This condition can worsen and lead to coma . A hyperosmolar coma usually occurs in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. Like diabetic ketoacidosis, a hyperosmolar coma is a medical emergency. Immediate treatment with intravenous fluid and insulin is important in reversing the hyperosmolar state. Unlike patients with type 1 diabetes, patients with type 2 diabetes do not generally develop ketoacidosis solely on the basis of their diabetes. Since in general, type 2 diabetes occurs in an older population, concomitant medical conditions are more likely to be present, and these patients may actually be sicker overall. The complication and death rates from hyperosmolar coma is thus higher than in diabetic ketoacidosis.
Blood glucose is essential for the proper functioning of brain cells. Therefore, low blood sugar can lead to central nervous system symptoms such as:
Strategies To Stabilize Blood Sugar
Getting your blood sugar to healthy levels may take trial and error, but there are steps to help you achieve it.
Having a daily routine is critical for good diabetes control,” Dr. Kassem says. “That means following your meal plan, exercising regularly, being consistent with blood sugar testing, and following up regularly with your doctor.” Tracking carbohydrates is particularly important. Big variations in carbohydrate intake from day to day can lead to fluctuations in blood sugars, she adds. For example, when you consume excess carbohydrates, the body digests them like sugar and sends them straight to the bloodstream, increasing the risk of blood sugar spikes.
Follow these specific strategies to help control blood sugar:
Exercise A regular exercise program has been shown to help manage blood sugar levels over time, and taking a varied approach to fitness is good for diabetes and health in general. Participants in a 12-week program who exercised for an hour three times a week using both aerobic and resistance training had improved diabetes management, according to research published in February 2015 in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. So mix it up with strength training, aerobic workouts, and any other activities you enjoy.
Drinking Wisely Alcohol can cause an immediate rise in blood sugar and then a drop a few hours later. Its best to stick to moderate amounts and have some solid food with your beverage.
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Blood Sugar Testing Options
Specific recommendations for testing blood sugar depend on your type of treatment. “If its oral treatment, stagger the tests because this gives us a better idea of blood sugars through the day. It allows us to tailor medication better. But people on insulin have to be tested at regular times every day, Kassem explains.
From self-tests to lab tests, from daily testing to testing every few months, these different blood sugar tests can give you a more complete picture of your diabetes and how to go about managing it best:
Testing Strips and Glucose Monitors These are fingertip blood sample tests you can do at home. Depending on the status of the diabetes and your doctors recommendations, you may need to test multiple times a day to keep tabs on your blood sugar levels. Get to know your condition better by keeping a diary of your meals and activities and the blood sugar levels that result.
Use these self-check blood sugar testing tools to find out how your body responds to changes in your diet, exercise, and overall health. There are many brands of monitors, each with their own lancets and testing strips, so talk to your doctor about which design is best for you and about how often you should be checking your blood sugar levels at home.
Lab Work Your doctor will often order lab-drawn blood sugar tests as part of your regular office visits to monitor how well youre managing diabetes and other chronic health conditions.
Do Record Your Reading And Watch For Trends
If you havent done anything different with your diet or lifestyle, plus all other previous and consequent readings are in range, most likely it was a fluke.
However, if you decided to splurge on an Italian buffet of pasta with bread sticks, the end result could surely be a spike in your blood sugar. Take time to learn how diet impacts your readings in order to make some wiser choices in the future.
If they continue to trend high despite your best efforts with diet and exercise, it is time to consult a dietitian or nutritionist. They will be able to provide an individualized plan or a possible need for a change in medical treatment.
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Personalizing Your Diet Based On Blood Sugar Response
In addition to seeing your healthcare provider, there are steps you can take to reduce your blood sugar levels. If you check your blood sugar after meals and keep track of those measurements, along with the types and amounts of food you ate, you may be able to see which foods are problematic.
Although an increase in blood sugar is usually due to eating high-carb foods, all carbs are not the same when it comes to raising blood sugar. Because starchy foods digest down to glucose very quickly, some starchy foods may end up having a much greater impact on blood sugar than you might expect.
For instance, even though a banana tastes sweeter than a baked potato, the potato may actually have a bigger impact on blood sugar.13
Because high-carb foods have the biggest impact on blood sugar levels, it makes sense to reduce them, no matter what type of diet you follow. The American Diabetes made this point in a 2019 paper on nutrition for people with diabetes.14
Sometimes making gradual changes can work best. Our guide, Eating better: six steps down carb mountain, can help you lower your carb intake, one step at a time.
If youve been diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, our guide to the best foods for diabetes can help you make choices that may reduce your need for blood sugar control medications.
If a food or beverage seems to be causing your blood sugar to rise too much, try leaving it out of your diet for a few days to see if you notice a difference.
High And Low: How To Reduce Blood Sugar Level Immediately
Is insulin enough to reduce blood sugar immediately? Insulins main function is to lower blood sugar levels, but does your insulin dosage do the job?
The simple answer is: yes, insulin does the job, especially for those with insulin-dependent diabetes. There are certainly alternative ways to lower blood sugar immediately, but thats not exactly the goal when it comes to diabetes.
You dont want to lower blood sugar rapidly, just for the sake of being rapid. If you reduce blood sugar too quickly, then youll end up having to deal with low blood sugar instead.
Diabetes management is more about finding balance and treating yourself in a controlled manner. So, while you might need to reduce blood sugar immediately in some situations, you can do it in a way where youre still in control.
Find out how to stay in control, lower blood sugar, and get back to your normal lockdown routine of bread-baking and Tiger King-viewing!
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Flavored And Sweetened Yogurt And Coffee Drinks
Coffee and yogurt are considered useful and highly beneficial for diabetic patients. However, flavored and sweetened coffee and yogurt are full of carbs and sugar, which are very difficult for a diabetic person to digest and, therefore, increase blood sugar levels. Thus, one should opt for a plain coffee and yogurt, which are comparatively healthy options.
How Do I Check For Ketones
There are two ways to check for ketones:
- Step 7
Ketone strip storage
- Keep ketone strips at room temperature between 59° and 86° F. Keep them out of direct sunlight.
- Step 8 After opening the first time, write the date on the bottle.
- Always put the lid back on right away after opening.
- Do not keep them in the bathroom because the moisture could ruin the strips.
- Throw the ketone strips away 6 months after first opening if they are not gone.
- Do not use them after the expiration date. Call your pharmacy for a refill.
Steps to check for blood ketones:
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