Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Written by: Claire Arcidiacono, ND For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com† In our modern world we have many alternatives to sugar. These alternatives include artificial sweeteners and those that are considered natural sweeteners. In this blog I will be going over sugar substitute’s …
Written by: Dr.Claire Arcidiacono, ND What exactly is sugar? Sugar is what we call sweet- tasting water soluble carbohydrates. Sugar comes in two forms, monosaccharides or “simple sugars” which include glucose, fructose and galactose. Disaccharides or “compound sugars” are made of 2 bonded monosaccharides. For …
Written by: Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com†
Last blog I wrote about diabetes type 1. Today we will be talking about the interesting topic of prediabetes. From a holistic point of view, prediabetes is very interesting. It is literally the last stop between being healthy and becoming a full blown diabetic! Prediabetes is basically high blood sugar that is higher than is considered healthy, but is lower than is considered diabetic. Prediabetes can progress to full diabetes if changes to lifestyle and diet aren’t done. Certain supplements can help with this.†
HEALTHY VS PREDIABETES
What exactly is the cut off for “healthy” vs prediabetes? An A1C between 5.7 and 6.4 is typically considered to be prediabetes. A fasting blood sugar between 100 and 125, is usually associated with prediabetes. However, even if blood sugar is in that range, it is recommended to get a follow up A1C. (1) Now as I’m sure you notice 5.7 – 6.4 is a rather large range. In my clinical experience I have seen doctors diagnose prediabetes with an A1C of as low as 5.5. This is why it is always a good idea to get a copy of your blood work to have on hand when you call or come in.†
What are the signs that you may have prediabetes? Well basically they are very similar if not identical to diabetes. One symptom of prediabetes is called Acanthosis Nigricans, which is a darkening of the skin usually in the neck. Other areas that can be affected include the armpits, and groin. (2) Other symptoms include increased thirst, urination and hunger. Fatigue is very common. There may be blurry vision. As the prediabetes gets worse symptoms such as numbness and tingling in the hands and feet can occur. In addition to these symptoms there may be frequent infections as well as a decrease in the ability to heal. (3)†
RISK FACTORS
Now what are the risk factors for prediabetes? Well as I’ve just said prediabetes is very similar to diabetes type 2 (we will be talking about this next week!). In diabetes type 2 there is usually enough insulin however your body is no longer sensitive to it. In prediabetes, this process is at the beginning stage, in other words the cells that normally respond to insulin to uptake glucose or sugar are resistant to this process, so the glucose stays in the blood stream. What are the risk factors for insulin resistance?†
→Number one is hands down, diet, lack of activity and unhealthy lifestyle (example smoking). I’ve linked those together because normally those with one unhealthy lifestyle (smoking for example) are usually sedentary and have a standard American diet.†
→The next two important risk factors are weight and waist size. Those over 45 years old are also at an increased risk. While more research needs to be done, certain ethnicity also appear to have a higher risk.†
→Women with PCOS are also at an increased risk.†
→Those with obstructive sleep apnea seem to have an increased risk.†
→Lastly those with metabolic syndrome are at an increased risk for prediabetes. (4)†
ICYMI: BLOOD SUGAR AND KIDNEY SUPPORT – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 519>>LISTEN NOW!
Prediabetes can progress to diabetes or stay at the level of prediabetes. While avoiding diabetes is a great first step, it is important to aggressively work with prediabetes since even prediabetes has been linked to long term damage to the heart, blood vessels, and even the kidneys. Long term prediabetes has been linked to such things as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease including heart attack and strokes. There can even be damage to the nerves as well as the eyes.† (5)
Prediabetes is one place where natural medicine and complementary medicine truly shine! With prediabetes I am proud to say we have many tools in our holistic tool box! †
DIET & LIFESTYLE
Diet and Exercise are 2 of the most important aspects to working with prediabetes.†
Studies have found an association between a Mediterranean diet and better control over your blood sugar! †(6)
Reducing unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking have also been found to have a positive effect on blood sugar †(7)
Reducing stress also has been found to have positive affect on blood sugar.† (8)
ICYMI: THE PHYSIOLOGY OF DIABETES>>READ NOW!
SUPPLEMENTS TO SUPPORT HEALTHY BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS
Chromium, Zinc and Magnesium have been correlated with better blood sugar control. Studies show that those with low levels of these nutrients have less stable or even poorly controlled blood sugar. (9) Please see Invitehealth for all of our options containing these fantastic nutrients!†
Gymnema is one of the herbal remedies that studies have found to be anti- diabetic and to help with normalizing blood sugar. (10) Please see Invite’s Gluco Hx for this amazing herb!†
Bitter melon has been found in studies as well as through traditional medicine to be very helpful at regulating blood sugar levels. (11) Please see Invite’s Gluco Hx for this amazing herb!†
Fenugreek in studies has been found to regulate blood sugar with better results than the controls (12). Please see Invite’s Gluco Hx!†
Cinnamon has been found in studies to help lower blood sugar that spikes after eating. (13). Please seen Invite’s C-Betics!†
Biotin has been found to have an essential role in regulating blood sugar (14). Please see Invite’s biotin or Vitamin H!†
SOURCES
1.https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/getting-tested.html
2.https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/a-z/diabetes-warning-signs
3.https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prediabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20355278
4.Mahat RK, et al. Health risks and interventions in prediabetes: A review. Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews. 2019; doi:0.1016/j.dsx.2019.07.041.
5.Type 2 diabetes. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes/type-2-diabetes. Accessed Oct. 18, 2021.
6.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7468821/
7.Cigarette smoking: A risk factor for type 2 diabetes. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/health-effects-tobacco-use/cigarette-smoking-risk-factor-type-2-diabetes. Accessed Oct. 20, 2021.
8.https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/emotions/stress#:~:text=If%20stress%20doesn’t%20go,to%20affect%20your%20emotional%20health.
9.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26406393/
10.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3912882/
11.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4027280/
12.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4591578/
13.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6425402/
14.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3679599/
Diabetes type 1 Written by: Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com† Diabetes type 1 is a type of diabetes that is commonly found in children. In fact it used to be called juvenile diabetes. But what is diabetes type …
The physiology of Diabetes Written by: Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com† One of the most common questions people call or ask about is regarding blood sugar. Statistics for diabetes are quite alarming. In the United States alone there …
Diabetes Lab tests
Written by: Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
For further questions or concerns email me at carcidiacono@invitehealth.com†
Diabetes is ruled out or confirmed with blood tests. One of the most important tests is A1c or hemoglobin A1c (hA1C). This measures the average blood sugar levels over three months. Because the A1c is an average of the blood sugar levels over three months, it is considered more accurate for diabetes than a morning blood sugar reading or a spot test. The reason for this is because, spot tests monitor your blood sugar for a very short period of time and are affected by what you eat. For example let’s say Monday you go to an ice cream all you can eat party, the next morning you test your blood sugar and it’s much higher than is healthy or normal. Meanwhile your A1c test results that you get in a few weeks shows you are fine. That is because A1c is an average, thus one or two days of sugar overload in most cases doesn’t affect the results. (1) †
Fasting blood sugar is a great day to day tool to make sure blood sugar is well controlled. Unfortunately unlike A1c it is affected by recent spikes in blood sugar. Therefore it is mostly used to monitor rather than rule out diabetes. It is also helpful when someone is having large spikes up and down in their blood sugar but overall the average blood sugar is normal. If there is a history of high fasting blood sugar this is an indicator that A1c should be tested. (2) †
HBA1C: WHY IT MATTERS TO HEALTHY AGING – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 515>>LISTEN NOW!
Another blood test is called the glucose tolerance test and is used to determine how well your body is able to cope with glucose. This is actually a two part test. First is the glucose screening test. After fasting you are given a glucose liquid and 1 hour later your blood glucose level is tested. If the glucose level is higher than 140mg/dl, then a glucose tolerance test is recommended. Once again after fasting you will be given a glucose liquid. This time however you will get your blood sugar level taken first to get a baseline number. Then you consume the liquid and after 1 hour, 2 hours and 3 hours, your blood sugar levels are checked again. Depending on the results, an A1c can be used to confirm the diabetes diagnosis. Glucose tolerance tests are often done to screen for gestational diabetes. (3) †
Overall the most common tests for blood sugar are HA1c or A1c, fasting blood sugar, glucose screening tests and the glucose tolerance test. In addition to these tests, random blood sugar can be tested. (1) †
Now you may be saying what about the line on my urine test that says glucose?? Normally urine contains little to no glucose so anytime glucose is detected, it is flagged as abnormal. This is because glucose is not excreted by the kidneys. However when there is too much glucose in the body, the kidneys will get rid of the extra glucose by excreting it in the urine. While in the past, urine glucose was very important in monitoring blood sugar, (Just a random fun fact diabetes means sweet urine!). Due to its inaccuracies, it has become less common to use. It is useful when blood testing is too difficult for example in the case of needle phobias. Additionally urine tests can indicate the need for more accurate testing such as A1c. (4) †
BLOOD SUGAR AND KIDNEY SUPPORT – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 519>>LISTEN NOW!
In addition to glucose, the amount of insulin can be tested as well. Having too much insulin is called hyperinsulinemia. Having too much insulin can be a sign of insulin resistance, however I want to mention that other concerns such as tumors of the insulin producing cells can lead to an overproduction of insulin. (5) Low insulin is associated with type 1 diabetes. (6) †
I’ve included a chart for blood sugar numbers that indicates normal, pre and diabetic numbers so that as we get more into this topic a reference range is already available.(7) †
Next week we will be talking about Type 1 diabetes which was formally called Juvenile diabetes! †
SOURCES