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Today’s newsletter is a little different as I have just tested my diabetes level and found that I had a reading of 6.3%. I was quite happy with this reading until I checked my levels on the internet and found that I am currently in the pre-diabetes range!
“The blood test indicates your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. Normal levels are below 5.7 percent, and a result between 5.7 and 6.4 percent is considered prediabetes. An A1C level of 6.5 percent or higher on two separate tests means you have diabetes.”
What a shock
This scared the life out of me and has given me the incentive to once again reduce the carbs and sugars I am eating which have crept up again.
When I bought my blood testing kit around 4 months ago and I found my level to be 7.9 which is in the diabetes level but by reducing my sugar and carbohydrate intake I brought it down to 5.4 within three weeks.
I assumed I was ok
Because my levels were good and because I thought that anything under a reading of 7 was ok I relaxed my discipline and bread, cakes and biscuits etc crept back into my diet. When I took my reading an hour ago, I was pleased with the reading of 6.3 until I conducted the research!!
The following is an excellent article on Diabetes from the USA Harvard Medical School written by Dr Anthony Komaroff:
Many miss the prediabetes wake-up call
“Type 2 diabetes doesn’t usually appear all of a sudden. Many people have a long, slow, invisible lead-in to it called prediabetes. During this period, blood sugar levels are higher than normal.
However, they’re not high enough to cause symptoms or to be classified as diabetes. It’s still possible at this stage to prevent the slide into full-blown diabetes. Think of prediabetes as a wake-up call.
Unfortunately, few people ever hear the alarm. A new report from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention shows that among Americans age 20 and older, only 10% of those with prediabetes know they have it.
Given that as many as 73 million Americans have prediabetes, that’s a lot of missed opportunities to prevent the ravages of diabetes.
One reason many people don’t know that they may be headed toward diabetes is they’ve never had their blood sugar tested. This simple test isn’t part of routine preventive care.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends blood sugar “screening” only in individuals with high blood pressure. (Screening means hunting for hidden disease in the absence of any outward signs or symptoms.)
That’s important, because recommendations from the Task Force, an independent panel of experts, are used by many health-care organizations to determine preventive care. In addition, Task Force recommendations will help determine what services are covered under the Affordable Care Act.
The American Diabetes Association and other organizations recommend routine blood sugar testing in people at high risk for developing diabetes. These include:
- everyone over age 45
- younger people who are overweight and who also have one of these diabetes risk factors:
- little or no physical activity
- family history of diabetes
- high blood pressure or high cholesterol
- previous diagnosis of heart disease or polycystic ovary syndrome
Why bother?
Not everyone with prediabetes will go on to develop diabetes. Over the short term (three to five years), about 25% of people with prediabetes develop full-blown diabetes. The percentage is significantly larger over the long term.
Getting the wake-up call of prediabetes can be very useful. A three-part strategy can keep many people with it from ever getting diabetes. The strategy includes modest weight loss, increased physical activity, such as walking 30 minutes a day, and choosing a healthier diet.
In addition to helping stave off diabetes, these lifestyle changes can also help protect against heart attack, stroke, bone-thinning osteoporosis, and a host of other chronic conditions.
Those efforts are worth it, because diabetes can cause damage throughout the body. Extra glucose (blood sugar) can change the way blood vessels behave, increasing the chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or other form of cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes-related damage to small blood vessels can lead to blindness, kidney disease, and loss of feeling. It is a leading cause in the United States of hard-to-treat infections and amputations.
Providing more people with a wake-up call that diabetes may be looming, and heeding that call, could help battle the epidemic of diabetes.”
Why not check your level?
I would strongly advise everyone to buy a diabetes kit from the internet there are many to choose from. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain. This is the one I am using as an example:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/sinocare-Diabetes-Codefree-Painfree-Diabetics/dp/B07PFJ5N85/ref=sr_1_7?crid=1NTL4LZHV9RSW&dchild=1&keywords=sinocare+diabetes+test+kit&qid=1597489394&sprefix=sinocare%2Caps%2C154&sr=8-7
This kit is currently £15.99 which is a small price to pay to check if you are ok. If you are not ok, then your level can be brought down quickly with an adjustment in your diet (eating less sugar and carbs) and a little exercise.
You may feel well but there could be a danger lurking within which could result in full blown diabetes and everything connect with that. There is much evidence to show that even people with full blown diabetes can reduce their blood level to normal through exercise and improved diet.
Thoughts for the week.
- What are your thoughts about Diabetes?
- Are you concerned at all or are you carefree and just take life as it comes?
- If you are concerned for your health, I would ask you to consider this test.
- If you are fine wonderful – if you are not, then you can do something.
If you decide to buy a kit I would love to hear from you!
Well that’s it for this week have a wonderful weekend and stay healthy.
Warm regards
John
Off the Wall – How to Develop World Class Mental Resilience available HERE
http://www.jdmindcoach.co.uk/product/off-the-wall-how-to-develop-world-class-mental-resilience/ (Special offer. Put in code 10POUND when prompted to receive a signed copy for £10 including postage and packing – UK only
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