Is your fasting blood sugar above 100? Even if it’s between 95 and 100 fasting, there is reason to be concerned. No, this is not considered diabetes, but it may be the start down the path leading to pre-diabetes and heart disease. A healthy fasting blood sugar should be less than 90. Actually, the blood sugar number is only an indication of how efficient your insulin is and insulin is a very important hormone in blood sugar metabolism.
Elevated insulin levels affect many organs and other hormonal systems of the body and can show up as gradual weight gain, difficulty losing weight, fatigue, brain fog and even numbness. It will also contribute to health problems such as sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, elevated blood pressure, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. Yes, this is the path on the continuum of diabetes which ultimately leads to many health complications, including diseases of the heart, brain, nerves, kidney, eyes.
Diabetes Type 2 has become a worldwide epidemic and adversely affects the health of millions of people. In 2010, 1.9 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older. Prior to the onset of Diabetes Type 2, doctors may tell their patients to pay attention if their blood sugars are above 100. This metric is important because if your fasting blood sugar is above 126, you have diabetes. Another number used for diagnosis is the Hemoglobin A1C. This tells you how sugar coated your hemoglobin (oxygen carrying red blood cells) are. The higher the A1C, the higher the blood sugar. Normal A1C is below 5.7, but a healthy target for A1C is well below the 5.6. Vigilance and regular testing is important to know your risk factors.
If you are pre-diabetic your doctor or nutritionist may advise you to lose weight and very possibly the numbers may reverse. However, in certain cases, it may be extremely difficult to lose weight because of underlying issues that actually prevent weight loss may be present.
If you are on the path to Type 2 Diabetes, why not be pro-active and address it before you are eventually diagnosed? What you should know is that it can very likely be reversed in as little as 3 months provided you are aware of the risks and make necessary lifestyle modifications. The first place we start is with food. Are you drinking soda, or other drinks that have sugar? Does your diet include high levels of carbs (which convert to sugar)? How many fruits and veggies are you eating in a day?
What you consume will absolutely affect your insulin and blood sugar levels. Here is a questionnaire that will identify how healthy your diet really is. The lower your score the higher at risk you are.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE QUESTIONNAIRE
Other factors effecting blood sugar metabolism are:
1. Nutrient deficiencies
2. Hormonal imbalances (such as estrogen and testosterone and stress hormones i.e. Cortisol…)
3. Environmental toxicity from pesticides, herbicides and other pollutants
4. Genetically Modified Foods (GMO)
5. Hormones in meat, poultry and dairy products
6. Exposures to heavy metals, such as mercury and arsenic
Getting started and being pro-active is simple: Through a simple history and questionnaire, we can target exactly what needs to be addressed.
Through a personalized program supplemented by Health Coaching, we can successfully support our patients in a manner that mitigates risks and, in many cases, may reverse Type 2 Diabetes. Individualized Health Strategies include multiple factors such as exercise, food, elimination of toxins, stress management and others to improve blood glucose and insulin levels. We partner with you to make the lifestyle changes to improve your health for life!
