Despite what you may have heard, not all sugar is alike.
The sugars found in nature in whole foods such as fruit (primarily fructose and glucose) come with complex carbohydrates (fiber) that help slow uptake in the body so that they can serve as a useful energy source for our cells. The brain, for example, gets almost all its energy from glucose. Along with these sugars in whole foods, nature also provides nutrients that help metabolize the sugar.
However, when sugar is refined and processed, all of the nutrients and minerals are stripped away. When consumed, white sugar leads to spikes in blood sugar and the resultant “crash” can lead to fatigue and mood swings. Sugar can also lead to chronic inflammation, obesity, and a host of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and more. Excess sugar is stored as fat in the body.
In 1970, the high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that was discovered in 1957 as a low-cost sugar substitute was introduced into the US food supply. Initially it was thought that fructose would fool the body and not increase glucose or insulin, but that proved false, since once in the cell, the body converts fructose to glucose. As mentioned above, in whole fruit, fructose is moderated by pectin and other fibers so the uptake is slow. When isolated in HCFS and added to juices, beverages and processed foods, it becomes a major source of calories that get converted into fat. As it turns out, HFCS may increase your appetite and promote diabetes – even more than regular sugar.
With more and more processed food products containing hidden sugar and HFCS, it’s more important than ever that we get an idea of our blood sugar levels, to see if we are at risk of pre-diabetes or diabetes. In the past, blood sugar was measured by testing glucose levels on a given day. However, blood glucose levels fluctuate widely with meals, activity, exercise, and medications, and only provide insight into the past 12-18 hours at best.
HgbA1c
In contrast, there is a newer test that measures the sugar in the body that is bound to hemoglobin (a blood protein). This “glycated” (coated with sugar) hemoglobin is known as Hemoglobin A1c (or HgbA1c) and indicates the average blood sugar levels over the previous three months. This is one of eight predictive biomarker tests that can help predict risk of disease or lifetime health, and is most often used to evaluate blood sugar, diabetic risk and insulin resistance. This is important because frequently patients have normal blood glucose on a given test day, but their HgbA1c levels could be elevated. More importantly, high blood glucose levels tend not to be the norm until a person has advanced pre-diabetes. HgbA1c provides a much more reliable indication of actual, immediate risk.
When you test for HgbA1c, the goal range should be levels less than 5%. HgbA1c is a measure of insulin resistance (meaning your body is less able to manage and neutralize the sugar it encounters), so when it is elevated, that means the body is no longer properly managing blood sugar levels, which also strongly suggests a tendency toward higher inflammation throughout the body.
Testing and Managing HgbA1c Levels
The HgbA1c test is a simple blood test that you can purchase here. The result will reflect your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. The higher your HgbA1c level, the poorer your blood sugar control. And if you have previously been diagnosed with diabetes, the higher the HgbA1c level, the higher your risk of diabetes complications. If you have diabetes, we recommend testing regularly to ensure that your levels are staying within range.
Here are a few other tips to help manage your HgbA1c levels:
- Make a plan. Having a plan and goals in place can make it easier to take remedial steps and see results. Challenge yourself to get better day by day.
- Choose whole foods and choose more alkaline forming foods as found on this Alkaline Way chart, which helps our bodies to balance acid and alkaline properties in our cells (more acid cells leads to loss of cell resilience and increased illness.) Minimize added sugar and processed foods.
- Add exercise into your routine. Finding time to exercise can be a challenge, but if lowering your HgbA1c is your goal, it is essential. Exercise doesn’t need to be elaborate: walk as much as you can during the day, ride a stationary bike, take stairs rather than elevators. Play sports. Ad some squats, sit-ups or pushups into your routine. Finally, when you get the opportunity to exercise a little bit more than you normally would, take it! Increasing exercise throughout the day will ultimately help lower your A1C level.
- Identify and remove immune burdens. Adding rehabilitative tests like LRA by ELISA/ACT can help identify burdens on the individual immune defense and repair system. Removing reactive items from your diet and environment can help restore immune system tolerance and resilience, neurohormonal balance, and digestive and detoxification competences. Ultimately this will help your whole body to function better and will help reduce risk of future illness and enhance quality of life.
- Monitor your HgbA1c Levels. Keep a running notebook of results of your HgbA1c tests, even if your doctor is doing the same. This will allow you to keep track of which exercises and other activities affect your blood sugar and will allow you the opportunity to make adjustments where needed.
- Reevaluate your plan and evolve. As the world evolves, so must we. After a couple weeks using your new plan, take a look at your goals, activities, and results, and make any needed adjustments. We’re not perfect, but we all can get better day by day.
Good luck on your journey to better health.
Note: Before you take your health into your own hands, it is best to consult your doctor.
