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GLUCOSE
- goal 70-109
yours__________ (diagnosis
of diabetes is when 126 or above is seen 2 times)
When your
body digests carbohydrates, it's broken down into glucose.
Glucose is the same thing as blood sugar.
The American Diabetes Association really wants to see
fasting sugars under 100 instead of 110 because 15% of people
with fasting sugars between 100-110 will go on to become
diabetic.
HbAlc
(Glycosylated hemoglobin) -goal < 6.0%
yours_________
Imagine
doing 100 blood sugar readings a day for three months. HbAlc is
an average of all these readings without having to do all the
pokes. The test actually measures the amount of sugar that
attaches to protein in the Red Blood Cells.
Because red blood cells live about 3 months, the test
shows the 3 month average. HbAlc is analyzed as a percentage. Here's a chart comparing % to glucose.
4%
60 in control
5%
90 in control
6%
120 in control
7%
150 in control
8%
180 out of control
9%
210 out of control
10%
240 out of control
11%
270 out of control
12%
300 out
of control
13%
330 out of control
Reducing
your Alc by just 1% greatly reduces your risk of diabetes
complications. For
example, decreasing your Alc from 8% to 7% reduces your risk of
eye, kidney, and nerve damage by 35%.
TRIGLYCERIDES
(TRIG)- goal <150
yours ________
Triglycerides
are made when the body isn't using all of the fats and
carbohydrates you eat. When
glucose floating around in the blood meets up with free fatty
acids floating around, they combine and are called a
triglyceride.
Think of
this as a "bad match" which you'll want to break up.
Alcohol causes matchmaking too (which increases
triglycerides). This
lab will bounce around quickly.
Exercise and fiber lower TRIG.
Total CHOLESTEROL
(CHOL) goal <200
yours ________
You may
even see the goal as <180 if there are other heart disease
risk factors or strong genetic disposition.
Total CHOL=
HDL + LDL + VLDL
Most
vegetarians have a cholesterol <150.
LDL
-Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
goal <130 (or
<100 if other risk factors)
yours_______
This is
the "bad" cholesterol.
Think Loser, Lowlife, Lousy and you want Less of them. These are the globules that stick to arteries and clog them.
We can lower the losers by increasing soluble fiber.
Unfortunately, exercise doesn't decrease these but if you
lose weight (via diet and exercise) they should come down.
HDL-
High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol
goal over 50 yours_______
This is
the "good" cholesterol.
Think Hero, Happy, Healthy, and you want them Higher. HDL's act like the video game PacMan. They try to keep arteries clean by preventing LDL from
sticking.
Exercise
will increase these. The
threshold is 7 (15 minute) segments of aerobic activity per
week. Every 15 minute segment above and beyond this will increase
HDL by 0.4 points.
VLDL
-Very low density lipoprotein is a globule more in transition
and is not a factor yet. It's usually 20-30 points of your total cholesterol.
RATIO-
What percentage of your total cholesterol is made up of HDL
(Hero's)? goal
<4.0
yours______
This is
calculated Total
Cholesterol/HDL
example
total 200, HDL 50
200/50 = 4.0
Sometimes
people have such a high HDL that it skews the total to be higher
pushing it over the 200 mark, to this is when ratio is
important.
HOMOCYSTEINE-
goal < 11.4
yours ________
This is an
amino acid (broken down protein) normally found in the blood
however sometimes the levels become excessive.
High levels of homocysteine may damage the arteries or
make blood more likely to clot.
Low intakes of folic acid and vitamin B12 seemed to be
linked with higher levels of homocysteine.
CRP,
CCRP or C-Reactive Peptide- goal < 1.0
yours________
This
is a lab that shows inflammation in the arteries. A higher level may indicate unstable plaques in the arteries
which could break off and cause blockages, or collect more of
the "pieces" floating around. This would cause a
growth in thickness, which would decrease the amount of blood
flow through arteries. Omega-3
fatty acids are believed to decrease inflammation.
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