Functional Medicine | Get Healthy Now, Naturally | Alternative Health Information Functional Medicine | Get Healthy Now, Naturally | Alternative Health Information Functional Medicine | Get Healthy Now, Naturally | Alternative Health Information Functional Medicine | Get Healthy Now, Naturally | Alternative Health Information Your Medical Detective

The Two Best Tests for Diabetes Control

Ronald J. Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., M.S.
Print Page

According to the ADA, an estimated 14.6 million people in the United States have been given a diagnosis of diabetes, most of them with type 2 or adult onset.

In a recent edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the head of the Johns Hopkins Diabetes Center urged physicians and patients to better use the blood-testing tools at hand to manage diabetes.

According to Christopher Saudek, M.D., a former president of the American Diabetes Association, "if the goal of treatment is to prevent disability and death from diabetes, a better job of monitoring the disease is essential.

Studies conducted between 1976 and 2005 concluded that both self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) and the testing of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) can help diabetics take proper control of their blood sugar levels and successfully manage their disease.

SMBG gives an accurate reflection of immediate blood glucose levels while HbA1c is a better measure of long-term blood glucose control.

Diabetics should get their physician to conduct the HbA1c test every three to six months.

The first step in preventing or delaying the onset of complications associated with diabetes is careful monitoring.

So the motto is: "Don't assume that lack of symptoms provides enough data to determine the seriousness of diabetes. Instead use the two gold standards of SMBG and HbA1c testing.