Diabetes: It’s More Than Blood Sugar

“What’s your blood sugar?” “How’s your A1C?”

When we talk about diabetes, we usually put most of the emphasis on blood sugar or blood glucose. That’s no surprise since blood glucose can jump or plummet quickly, changing the way you feel from one hour to the next. Without a doubt, if you have diabetes, monitoring and managing your blood glucose is critical. But equally important is tending to the health of your heart and blood vessels.
Unfortunately, having diabetes at least doubles your risk of heart troubles. That’s a scary-sounding statistic, but there is good news, as well. There is a lot you can do to protect yourself, and many of the things you do to control your blood sugar – eat well, exercise, take medications – also protect your heart. I teach my patients the ABCs of diabetes care.

A: A1C – a measure of blood sugar control for two to three months

B: Blood Pressure

C: Cholesterol (and triglycerides)

Below are the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) recommended target goals for A1C, blood pressure and cholesterol. However, everyone is different and everyone’s diabetes is different, so you must discuss individualized goals with your healthcare team.

Measurement	ADA Goal
A1C	< 7%
Blood glucose	80 – 130 mg/dl before meals < 180 mg/dl 1 – 2 hours after beginning the meal
Blood pressure	< 140/90 mmHg
LDL cholesterol	< 100 mg/dl (not a target, but a value suggesting lower risk)
HDL cholesterol	> 40 mg/dl for men > 50 mg/dl for women (not targets, but values suggesting lower risk)
Triglycerides	< 150 mg/dl (not a target, but a value suggesting lower risk)

Often people with diabetes put energy into one of the ABCs at the expense of the others. A healthy future requires that you to manage all three, but sadly less than 20% of Americans with diabetes have each of the three at target levels, Here are a few things you can do right now.

• If you don’t already know, call your physician’s office to learn what your blood glucose target is for various times of the day.
• Ask if your blood pressure and cholesterol levels are in control.
• Meet with a registered dietitian nutritionist to develop a personalized meal plan.
• Use less salt and more herbs and spices in cooking.
• Choose lower-sodium packaged foods, and use only half of a salty seasoning pack.
• Cook more foods from scratch.
• Sauté in cooking oils instead of butter, lard and other solid fats.
• Eat more vegetarian meals.

 

Taking control of all aspects of your diabetes puts you in charge of your health now and in the years to follow. Now what is more empowering than that?