Diabetes Testing Could Help You Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes testing
is focused on obtaining your blood glucose levels. There are many
reasons why you might want to consider diabetes testing, such as
your age, your weight, how you feel, and your family history. Diabetes
statistics show that you consider diabetes testing if you are
45 years old or older, are overweight, or if you have one or more
risk factors for diabetes.
Diabetes testing
can tell you if you have normal blood glucose levels, pre-diabetes,
or diabetes. Many people go for their first diabetes testing when
they experience the common signs
of diabetes such as frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained
weight loss, blurry vision, and fatigue. Having one or more risk
factors for diabetes is a warning sign for diabetes. Some of the
risk factors for type 2 diabetes are as follows:
- Being overweight
- A family history of diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Unhealthy cholesterol levels
- A history of gestational diabetes
(diabetes during pregnancy)
There are three
common blood glucose tests used for diabetes testing. A fasting
plasma glucose test (FPG) is used to check your blood glucose after
you have not eaten for at least 8 hours. Similarly, an oral glucose
tolerance test (OGTT) calculates your blood glucose after you have
not eaten for 8 hours, and 2 hours after you drink a special glucose
beverage. A random glucose test measures your blood glucose at any
time, regardless of when you last ate.
The readings of
these tests, along with your symptoms and other factors, should
determine if you have pre-diabetes or diabetes. Each test has different
readings to diagnose abnormally high blood glucose levels. For example,
on an FPG test, any reading above 99 mg/dL signifies pre-diabetes
or diabetes, while with an OGTT, a reading of 140 mg/dL or more
is a sign of pre-diabetes or diabetes. On a random glucose test,
a reading of 200 mg/dL and above is considered diabetic.
If your diabetes
testing found evidence of pre-diabetes, there are ways to delay
or prevent type 2 diabetes. A low-calorie, low-fat diet, diabetes
weight loss, and regular exercise have shown great promise in
preventing the onset of diabetes. Pre-diabetic patients who followed
this regimen showed a 58 percent less chance of getting diabetes.
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