A blood sugar test allows you to check your blood sugar levels against the normal range of blood sugar and determine if you have a condition called diabetes. Abnormal levels of blood sugar indicate that it could be either diabetes or pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is the stage that eventually leads to full diabetes.
Blood glucose tests can tell your random blood sugar level. They allow you to determine where your blood sugar levels stand against the chart. It helps you see if your blood sugar is in the normal range or is under dangerous blood sugar levels. Regular monitoring of blood sugar levels will lead you to adopt a healthy lifestyle and avoid diabetes.
Who Is It For?
This test is mainly for people who are at the highest risk of developing diabetes. Even if you are not at risk of developing diabetes, you can still do the tests. Just because you are not at risk now doesn’t mean you won’t be in the near future. That’s why regular blood sugar tests are so essential. Here are the people who are at the highest risk.
- People who are overweight or obese
- People who will reach 45 years of age or older
- Women who developed diabetes during their pregnancy or gave birth to large babies (9 pounds or more)
- People with first-degree relatives with diabetes
- People who are Black, Alaskan Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino, Native Hawaiian, or even Pacific Islanders
- People who are not physically active or don’t engage in exercise
- People who have high blood pressure
- People who have acanthosis nigricans, which are dark, thick, and velvety skin around your neck or armpits
- People who have impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance
- People who have polycystic ovary syndrome, also known as PCOS
- People with high-density lipoprotein
Why Should You Take the Test?
Well, the test allows you to compare your blood sugar levels against the normal range of sugar to see if you have diabetes or are at risk of developing it. Suppose you are young and fit, but as you grow close to the age of 45, you will be at risk of developing diabetes. Also, those who have arthritis and cannot do any exercises will also be at risk of developing diabetes. So, if you are developing diabetes, you should take the test every once in a while.
If you have diabetes, you must take the tests regularly to ensure your blood sugar level is in control because if it’s not, you may severely damage your organs in the long run. Also, if you are young and healthy now, it is still advisable that you still check for blood sugar levels to ensure there are no spikes or irregularities in your blood sugar levels.
Understand normal blood sugar levels for adults
How Many Types of Diabetes are There?
Technically, there are 4 types of diabetes, but only two of them are a major cause for concern and that’s because the other two only affect a small percentage of people. The 4 types of diabetes are:
Type 1 diabetes is a type of autoimmune condition where your antibodies attack the beta cells in your pancreas for reasons unknown. Those cells are responsible for producing insulin, without which, your body is left with excess sugar in your blood.
In Type 2 diabetes, your body builds up a certain resistance to the insulin produced by your body which makes it impossible for your body to efficiently use the insulin. Also, in some cases, insulin production also decreases. No matter the case, it will lead to excess blood sugar in your body.
Pre-diabetes is the stage where you will detect slight deviation from the normal range of blood sugar levels in your body. Sometimes, these differences are so minute, people chalk them up as marginal differences and don’t take them seriously. It may later turn into full-on diabetes.
This type of diabetes only happens in pregnant women and so it’s a temporary condition, but they must take care now, or else it may eventually develop into full-on diabetes. It happens when the body produces special hormones that block the use of insulin.
How Many Types of Blood Sugar Tests are There?
There are 4 types of blood sugar tests.
- Glycated Hemoglobin (A1C) Test
This test shows the average blood sugar level in your blood for the last 2-3 months. So, if your blood sugar level is higher in this test, it means that’s how it has been for the last 2 – 3 months.
This test will be taken before you eat anything. This test eliminates any possibility of seeing spikes in the A1C test due to a heavy meal.
- Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
For this test, a test will be taken in the early morning after fasting overnight and then you will be asked to take a sugary drink, after which another test will be taken.
A random blood sugar level test can be taken at any time to check if you have elevated levels of sugar.
Conclusion
Random blood sugar tests and others are crucial to those who have diabetes or those who are at risk of developing it. These tests don’t cost much and you usually get the result very quickly. Those who have diabetes are advised to take one or more of these tests to get an accurate result.
FAQs
- Are there any medications that can fix diabetes?
Unfortunately, there’s no magical pill that can cure this condition. A combination of a healthy lifestyle and regular exercise can keep this condition in control.
- Is diabetes reversible?
Technically yes, but you will have to do a whole lot of lifestyle changes to achieve that. First of all, you will have to get your weight in check. Then you will have to adopt a new healthy diet. You will also have to do regular yoga and exercise and slowly after a while, your diabetes condition may stay in control.
- Does this mean you will have to live on pills for your life?
Yes and no. If you don’t get your weight and diet in check, you will have to heavily rely on medications. But if you get them in check and do regular exercise, you can live a medication-free life.
Post Disclaimer by BhaskarLive.in
The information contained in this post is source form the news agency or PR agency. We do not take any responsibility of accuracy of information. We have not made any modification or changes in original content. This information only for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we Endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.