ABC's you need to know about diabetes

We thought that fasting blood sugar is a way to determine if your blood sugar is okay. that's long time ago. Now, we need to watch for the A,B,C of diabetes. Dr. Samuel Abbate came up with this idea to help patient easily remember long list of recommendations. (Clinical Diabetes published in 2003).

A for Hemoglobin A1C- it is the patient's average blood sugar for the past 3 months. the target goal is to let the patient have a result of normal or near normal reference range of less than 7% for American Diabetes Association (ADA), or less than 6% for Institute for the Study of Diabetes Foundation (ISDF).  The HbA1C test is currently the best way to see if your blood sugar is in control. it is taken quarterly or every 3 months because the hemoglobin in our blood usually change every 3 months. see www.diabetes.org for more info's.

B for blood pressure- Blood pressure should be monitored regularly. Patients with blood pressure more than 130/80 and confirmed on a separate day to be more than 130/80 is diagnosed to have hypertension and should be treated accordingly. This is crucial for patients with diabetes and hypertension.

Imagine this, your blood consistency is to thick to flow to your bloodstream because of the high blood sugar then add hypertension, it makes your blood stream constrict causing blood flow to slow.Constricted blood vessels which affects the flow of the blood which will lead to high blood pressure plus your blood consistency is thick because of high blood sugar equals COMPLICATIONS! (check complications of diabetes in google.)

C for cholesterol levels- You need to monitor also your lipid profile, your blood cholesterol levels such as Low density lipoprotein (LDL), this is the bad cholesterol, High density lipoprotein (HDL) the good cholesterol, your triglycerides and your cholesterol. If the values of this lipid profile is beyond the normal range, this will lead to diabetic dyslipidemia and can lead to series of complications. this may cause blockage to your blood vessels.

Again, imagine this, you have a thick consistency of blood, constricted  blood vessels and blockage due to cholesterol equals COMPLICATIONS!



TIP: Lifestyle modification is the best way to control your ABC's of diabetes. Exercise, Proper diet/ healthy eating and proper intake of your prescriptions will help you improve this blood chem results. It is simple as 123 and ABC.