Tue, Sep-09-03, 18:23
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Plan: Bernstein Diabetes Soluti
Stats: 260/-/145
BF:
Progress: 63%
Location: Michigan
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I think it is possible for diabetics to get readings under 5 and that's what I'm shooting for. My last was 5.3. I'm hoping my next will be 5.0 or lower. Not that it isn't achieved without a good deal of discipline which means that you can't allow your blood sugar to spike even once in a while. Non-diabetic A1C is in the range of 4.2-4.6, or an average blood sugar of about 85 and this is what we are to "shoot" for. Can everyone make that? Maybe not and maybe not for some with just diet alone, but it's a worthy goal to aim for. Is 5.5 good enough? Maybe, but if I can get it lower I'm certainly going to attempt it. At this point, I'm not sure I'd be willing to go back on medication to get my A1C below 5 and I'm reasonably sure that my doctor wouldn't go for prescribing it for that reason.
I don't believe that beta cell burnout is inevitable with age. If that were so, we'd see a lot more elderly people with diabetes who are not overweight. In other words, everyone would eventually become diabetic if they lived long enough and this is just not so. Yes, our other hormones decrease with age and this is generally thought to be a normal function of aging, but I've not read anything to date that shows that beta cell burnout is a normal process of aging. What burns out beta cells isn't their age, it's overuse and high blood sugar readings. Allowing them to work less, either through the use of insulin or by eating in a manner that eliminates blood sugar spikes, preserves their function.
Having said all that, I don't think about it every hour of the day and I don't let myself become obsessed by it. It's a goal and when I'm deciding whether or not to have that high carb goodie during the next holiday, it's something that I will think about; is eating this more important to me than my goal of a lower average blood sugar? If my next A1C comes back the same as it was last time, I'm not going to beat myself up over it or get stressed over it. I'll just keep trying and at the end of the day, that's really the best that all of us can do.
Last edited by Lisa N : Tue, Sep-09-03 at 18:27.
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