I hope I got everything right and that folks find this useful. If you want me to research any others, I'll do so willingly
Enjoy!
Hana
Explaining the routine blood tests
1) Finger stick test or BG test
The glucose in our blood, which is there largely as a result of what you have eaten, (your liver may have made some), circulates in solution in the plasma, which is the liquid fraction of the blood.
The average blood volume of humans is about 4.7 litres, slightly more for men and less for women and children. It accounts for about 9% of body weight
In Britain, we measure concentrations of solutions in “Moles” 1 mole of glucose weighs180grams, or about 1/12th of a standard bag full. To make the numbers simpler, we measure blood glucose concentration in millimoles per litre A millimole is one thousandth of a mole so a millimole of Glucose weighs0.18grams
So if a non-diabetic has a blood volume of 5 litres and a blood glucose of 4.5 mmol/l the total weight of glucose in that person’s blood is 0.18 x 4.5 x 5 grams or 4.05grams, which is about a teaspoonful.
2) Hb A1c or A1c test
Haemoglobin is a wonderful molecule It has the ability to pick up and put down oxygen and thus to carry it from the lungs to where it is needed.
Haemoglobin in blood is confined within the red blood corpuscles (they shouldn’t really be called cells, because they have no nucleus. But we all do it :>))
A red blood corpuscle with its enclosed haemoglobin lives about 120 days and then it’s dismantled and recycled
Haemoglobin also sometimes picks up other molecules than oxygen, including carbon monoxide. or glucose. These it cannot put down again. Once attached, they stay to the end of the corpuscle’s life.
The higher the concentration of the “passenger” molecules, the more is picked up by haemoglobin. Thus if you have a lot of glucose circulating in your blood, the Haemoglobin will pick up a lot of it. Once bound to haemoglobin, a new compound is formed called Glycosylated haemoglobin shortened to HB A1c
It was only realised about 30 years ago that the percentage of haemoglobin that is glycosylated, could be used to show how high the concentration of glucose in the blood had been during the lifetime of the red corpuscles (120 days) some people have worked out a correlation of average BG values to HbA1c values
The equation quoted in Bernstein’s book is:
Average BG reading = 35.6 x HbA1c – 77.3 (Those units are in mg/dL)
This is a bit complicated to do all the time and there are plenty of tables available on line.
No calculation works very well for HbA1cs of less than 5%
3) c-peptide test
C-peptide (connecting peptide) is the Glue, which sticks the A and B strands of pro-insulin together. It is released into the bloodstream when the insulin is made from Pro-insulin. The amount of c-peptide mirrors the amount of insulin being made.
Usually in T1 diabetes, there is little insulin production and so there is little c-peptide present. On the other hand, T2 diabetics often make a lot of insulin in an attempt to overcome resistance.
Lipid profile test
Lipid is a scientist’s word for fat. Cholesterol is a kind of lipid, which is made in the liver. It used to be thought, from dietary fats, but is now known to be made from carbohydrates. Cholesterol is carried around the body by transport molecules. LDL or low density lipoprotein and HDL or high Density lipoprotein. LDL is thought to deposit its fat in the blood vessels and clog them. HDL is thought to clear them up. When you get HDL and LDL cholesterol measured, it’s better to find you have lower amounts of LDL and higher amounts of HDL.
We also circulate a type of fat called triglyceride. These arise in the liver from food we eat and the amount varies throughout the day. That’s one reason this blood test is done after fasting. Triglyceride levels should be kept low.
Millimoles
the mole is a useful Value when calculating around chemical reactions . Essentially, it's the Relative Atomic Mass of the atom or molecule, in grams. Where 1 hydrogen atom has an RAM of 1,a mole of hydrogen weighs a gram carbon RAM is12 a mole of carbon weighs 12 grams, Water RAM is 18,a mole of water weighs 18grams Glucose RAM is 180so 1 mole weighs 180grams.. It all comes down to the Periodic table and Avagadro's number( good fun!! :lol: !!)
Americans and most of the rest of the planet have decided to work out their blood chemistry in actual masses, so their values for BG are in milligrams per decilitre NOW do you see why the conversion factor is 18? :lol:
Yes I know I'm nuts,(almonds perhaps?) but I love this stuff.
Enjoy!
Hana
Explaining the routine blood tests
1) Finger stick test or BG test
The glucose in our blood, which is there largely as a result of what you have eaten, (your liver may have made some), circulates in solution in the plasma, which is the liquid fraction of the blood.
The average blood volume of humans is about 4.7 litres, slightly more for men and less for women and children. It accounts for about 9% of body weight
In Britain, we measure concentrations of solutions in “Moles” 1 mole of glucose weighs180grams, or about 1/12th of a standard bag full. To make the numbers simpler, we measure blood glucose concentration in millimoles per litre A millimole is one thousandth of a mole so a millimole of Glucose weighs0.18grams
So if a non-diabetic has a blood volume of 5 litres and a blood glucose of 4.5 mmol/l the total weight of glucose in that person’s blood is 0.18 x 4.5 x 5 grams or 4.05grams, which is about a teaspoonful.
2) Hb A1c or A1c test
Haemoglobin is a wonderful molecule It has the ability to pick up and put down oxygen and thus to carry it from the lungs to where it is needed.
Haemoglobin in blood is confined within the red blood corpuscles (they shouldn’t really be called cells, because they have no nucleus. But we all do it :>))
A red blood corpuscle with its enclosed haemoglobin lives about 120 days and then it’s dismantled and recycled
Haemoglobin also sometimes picks up other molecules than oxygen, including carbon monoxide. or glucose. These it cannot put down again. Once attached, they stay to the end of the corpuscle’s life.
The higher the concentration of the “passenger” molecules, the more is picked up by haemoglobin. Thus if you have a lot of glucose circulating in your blood, the Haemoglobin will pick up a lot of it. Once bound to haemoglobin, a new compound is formed called Glycosylated haemoglobin shortened to HB A1c
It was only realised about 30 years ago that the percentage of haemoglobin that is glycosylated, could be used to show how high the concentration of glucose in the blood had been during the lifetime of the red corpuscles (120 days) some people have worked out a correlation of average BG values to HbA1c values
The equation quoted in Bernstein’s book is:
Average BG reading = 35.6 x HbA1c – 77.3 (Those units are in mg/dL)
This is a bit complicated to do all the time and there are plenty of tables available on line.
No calculation works very well for HbA1cs of less than 5%
3) c-peptide test
C-peptide (connecting peptide) is the Glue, which sticks the A and B strands of pro-insulin together. It is released into the bloodstream when the insulin is made from Pro-insulin. The amount of c-peptide mirrors the amount of insulin being made.
Usually in T1 diabetes, there is little insulin production and so there is little c-peptide present. On the other hand, T2 diabetics often make a lot of insulin in an attempt to overcome resistance.
Lipid profile test
Lipid is a scientist’s word for fat. Cholesterol is a kind of lipid, which is made in the liver. It used to be thought, from dietary fats, but is now known to be made from carbohydrates. Cholesterol is carried around the body by transport molecules. LDL or low density lipoprotein and HDL or high Density lipoprotein. LDL is thought to deposit its fat in the blood vessels and clog them. HDL is thought to clear them up. When you get HDL and LDL cholesterol measured, it’s better to find you have lower amounts of LDL and higher amounts of HDL.
We also circulate a type of fat called triglyceride. These arise in the liver from food we eat and the amount varies throughout the day. That’s one reason this blood test is done after fasting. Triglyceride levels should be kept low.
Millimoles
the mole is a useful Value when calculating around chemical reactions . Essentially, it's the Relative Atomic Mass of the atom or molecule, in grams. Where 1 hydrogen atom has an RAM of 1,a mole of hydrogen weighs a gram carbon RAM is12 a mole of carbon weighs 12 grams, Water RAM is 18,a mole of water weighs 18grams Glucose RAM is 180so 1 mole weighs 180grams.. It all comes down to the Periodic table and Avagadro's number( good fun!! :lol: !!)
Americans and most of the rest of the planet have decided to work out their blood chemistry in actual masses, so their values for BG are in milligrams per decilitre NOW do you see why the conversion factor is 18? :lol:
Yes I know I'm nuts,(almonds perhaps?) but I love this stuff.
