What is a1c hemoglobin

A good goal is to get minutes of moderate exercise per week, recommends Jordana Turkel , a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at Park Avenue Endocrinology and Nutrition in New York City. This is also what the ADA recommends. Different types of exercise both strength training or resistance training and aerobic exercise can lower your A1C by making the body more sensitive to insulin, Turkel says.

She encourages her patients not to go more than two days in a row without exercising, and to aim for two days of strength training. Be sure to check with your healthcare provider before embarking on an exercise plan , though. He or she can come up with an individualized plan for you. And if you monitor your blood sugar daily, check it before and after exercise.

As the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard Medical School explains, exercise can cause your blood sugar to rise, as more is released from the liver, and blood sugar to fall, due to increase insulin sensitivity. This is particularly important if you are on insulin or another diabetes medication that causes insulin secretion, such as include sulfonylureas, such as Amaryl glimepiride , and glinides, such as Prandin repaglinide and Starlix nateglinide.

But a great rule of thumb is to visualize your plate for every meal and aim to fill one-half of it with veggies , one-quarter with protein, and one-quarter with whole grains, says Turkel. If you like fruit , limit your portions to a small cup, eaten with a little protein or lean fat to help you digest the fruit carbohydrates in a manner that is less likely to spike your blood sugar level.

Also, avoid processed foods as much as possible, and say no to sugary sodas and fruit juice, which are high in carbs and calories, and thus can lead to spikes in blood sugar and contribute to weight gain, according to the ADA. Skipping meals , letting too much time pass between meals, or eating too much or too often can cause your blood sugar levels to fall and rise too much, the ADA points out.

This is especially true if you are taking insulin or certain diabetes drugs. Your doctor can help you determine the best meal schedule for your lifestyle. Diabetes treatment is very individualized, noted an article published in May in Diabetes Spectrum.

Your healthcare team will help you determine the steps you need to take to successfully manage diabetes. Always talk to your doctor before making any changes, such as starting a very-low-carbohydrate diet or beginning a new exercise regimen, and especially before making any medication or insulin changes. Work with your doctor to determine if, and how often, you should check your blood sugar.

You may be tempted to pick up an A1C home testing kit, but Dowdell does not recommend doing that. If you are under 45, you may need this test if you have certain risk factors.

These include: Being overweight or obese High blood pressure History of heart disease Physical inactivity Testing should be done every 3 years, and more frequently if your results show you have prediabetes. You may also need an HbA1c test if you have symptoms of diabetes. These include: Increased thirst Increased urination Blurred vision Fatigue. What happens during an HbA1c test? Will I need to do anything to prepare for the test?

You don't need any special preparations for an HbA1c test. Are there any risks to the test? What do the results mean? HbA1c results are given in percentages. Typical results are below. Normal : HbA1c below 5. Is there anything else I need to know about an HbA1c test? References American Diabetes Association [Internet]. Common Terms; [updated Apr 7; cited Jan 4]; [about 2 screens].

Atlanta: U. American Association for Clinical Chemistry; c— Diabetes; [updated Dec 12; cited Jan 4]; [about 2 screens]. In particular, it measures the percentage of hemoglobin in the blood with an attached molecule of glucose. When glucose attaches to hemoglobin, experts refer to the resulting compound as glycosylated hemoglobin. Type A1 hemoglobin has subtypes, including A1C.

As this is the most abundant subtype, it is a good marker for glucose control. The test uses a 3-month average because RBCs typically live for about 3 months.

Therefore, this timeframe reflects the sugar exposure to the cells over that time. The test does not require any specific preparations, so a person does not need to fast prior to the test, and a doctor can perform it at any time of the day. The A1C test estimates the average blood sugar level over the past 3 months.

The test is able to measure this by identifying the percentage of glycosylated hemoglobin in the blood. If there is more glucose present in the blood, more glucose is available to attach to hemoglobin. Therefore, if a person has a high percentage of glycosylated hemoglobin, it indicates that they have had high blood sugar for an extended period. A high A1C level can be concerning, as it may indicate that an individual has a higher risk of diabetes complications.

For those without a diabetes diagnosis, it suggests that, without interventions, they may develop the condition. For individuals living with diabetes, it may indicate that their current treatment plan is not effective and that they should contact a doctor. Potential complications that can result from high blood sugar levels include :. As many factors can affect a suitable A1C range, there is no standardized approach when it comes to setting A1C goals.

A diabetes healthcare team can help provide an individual with a target level that accounts for various factors, including the current A1C value and the date of the next test.

If the test result is already within a healthy range, the goal should be to maintain that. However, if a person enters the higher ranges, a doctor can suggest changes to their goals and treatment plans.

They can help the person determine a reasonable target and the best strategy to achieve that goal. A person should discuss any drastic lifestyle changes with a doctor before making them.

Suggestions to help lower A1C levels may include :. An A1C test is a diagnostic tool that measures blood sugar levels over the last 3 months. It can help doctors identify people at risk of developing diabetes and monitor the effectiveness of treatments in those living with the condition.

It measures the percentage of hemoglobin in red blood cells that has an attached glucose molecule.