HbA1c Test - An Important Tool In Reversing Diabetes

If you want to be successful in reversing diabetes, it is very important that you have an accurate way to gauge your progress and the HbA1c test is the best way. Most diabetics are used to checking their blood sugar, more accurately called blood glucose (BG), several times a day by pricking their finger to get a drop of blood to be read by a glucose meter. Unfortunately, this test is notoriously inaccurate. It can vary tremendously from one minute to the next even in a normal healthy person. In a diabetic, blood sugar measured this way varies even more. Moreover, it does not provide an accurate way to gauge your progress as you reverse your diabetes because it's just too variable and arbitrary.

A much more accurate way to gauge your progress in reversing diabetes is to take an HbA1c test at least every 3 months. You may even want to work with your doctor to get this test every month when you are first starting the process of reversing your diabetes naturally. This is especially true if you are on diabetes medication because as you reverse your diabetes using natural methods, you will not need as much medication and your doctor may need to ween you off it. If they don't lower the dosage as you reverse your diabetes, you could end up with low blood sugar which can be dangerous! Eventually, you won't need diabetes medication at all.

Please note that you may see the HbA1c test written as HgA1c or HgbA1c but neither of these are the standard way to refer to the test.

So why is a HbA1c test more accurate than a blood glucose reading?

The HbA1c test is an average reading of your blood sugar levels over the last 2-3 months, with more weight being on the last 2-4 weeks. A blood glucose reading measures your blood sugar level at that one moment right when you prick your finger. One minute later, it may be entirely different. If you get a reading in the normal range, it could very well be misleading if your blood sugar is actually high one minute later. The reverse would be true as well. The HbA1c test gives you a much more accurate picture of what is actually going on because it gives you an average reading across several weeks.

So how does an HbA1c test work?

As glucose circulates throughout the bloodstream, some of it attaches to the hemoglobin molecules found in the red blood cells. Once this happens, the new protein is called "glycated hemoglobin."  Once a hemoglobin molecule becomes glycated, it remains this way for the life of the red blood cell containing it. The more glucose that is present in the blood, the more glycated hemoglobin molecules will be present.

In a healthy person without diabetes, the percentage of glycated hemoglobin ranges between 4%–5.9%. However, in a person with elevated levels of glucose in their blood, the percentage can go much higher. Over 6%-6.5% is considered in the diabetic range. For reference, an HbA1c result of between 6%-7% is equal to a 127 -155 mg/dl blood glucose reading. An HbA1c result over 10% is considered extremely high and extremely dangerous.

Red blood cells live on average around 90-120 days. This is why it is suggested you get the HbA1c test at least every 3 months, especially when you need to gauge how well you are doing in your efforts to reverse your diabetes. However, you should remember that the results of the HbA1c test are skewed for the last 3 months so if you are on medication and you have radically changed your diet and lifestyle in an effort to reverse diabetes naturally, you should really consider getting the HbA1c test more often, perhaps once a month.

You should also know that even though the HbA1c test is very accurate, there are a few instances where its accuracy can be thrown off. If you have lost a lot of blood after surgery for example, the results can be thrown off. Also, if there is a higher than normal turn over rate for red blood cells the results can be affected. This can happen when a person is anemic or has renal disease or liver disease. It can also happen if you take a super high dosage of vitamin C. Tell your doctor if you fall into any of these categories.

Now that you know the best test to use to gauge your progress in reversing diabetes, you need to know exactly how to go about reversing your diabetes. What I have seen around the net is that many sites offer misinformation that could derail your most sincere efforts. There are other sites that offer bits and pieces of good information but they don't give you all the details you need. To actually reverse diabetes, you need a comprehensive set of instructions that will give you extremely accurate, precise, and complete information on how to reverse diabetes using scientifically tested methods. You can also access this information from any page on my blog by clicking on the big red button at the top of the page.... I know it's kind of ugly and big but I strongly believe every diabetic needs this information.