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HbA1c - how accurate?

Cas40

Cas40

Member
Messages
18
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
Happy New Year to this fab community. I find you all so supportive.
I was diagnosed in September and managed to get my HbA1c from 53 to 35 in three months. I know that this is a one off and work needs to continue!
But I wondered if anyone knows how effected the HbA1c result is by food you ate in the last few days? I have looked at some research and think it might be. I’d had an op before I had my first test and was going overboard on honey to help heal the wound. I wonder it that elevated the result.
Any research info would be appreciated.
 
Happy New year Cas40
The HbA1c measures how much glucose has stuck to your red blood cells, our blood cells have a shelf life of around 12 weeks. So the HbA1c is a sort of 12 week average however if towards the end of that 12 weeks you have lots of carbs/sweet stuff it will probably cause your number to be a little higher, but not by a great deal and if you think about it if you didn't have a problem dealing with carbs/sugars you could eat all the honey you wanted and not have a HbA1c in the diabetic range
 
Cas40 said:
Happy New Year to this fab community. I find you all so supportive.
I was diagnosed in September and managed to get my HbA1c from 53 to 35 in three months. I know that this is a one off and work needs to continue!
But I wondered if anyone knows how effected the HbA1c result is by food you ate in the last few days? I have looked at some research and think it might be. I’d had an op before I had my first test and was going overboard on honey to help heal the wound. I wonder it that elevated the result.
Any research info would be appreciated.
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Celebrate (in a thoroughly LC way) the great progress you achieved by hard work since September. Congratulations.
 
Just going back to this, if the weight around the pancreas is lost and you are in the normal range, then isn’t your pancreas then functioning normally and you can eat all the honey you want and still be in normal range? Just curious, not intending to eat all the honey!

catinahat said:
Happy New year Cas40
The HbA1c measures how much glucose has stuck to your red blood cells, our blood cells have a shelf life of around 12 weeks. So the HbA1c is a sort of 12 week average however if towards the end of that 12 weeks you have lots of carbs/sweet stuff it will probably cause your number to be a little higher, but not by a great deal and if you think about it if you didn't have a problem dealing with carbs/sugars you could eat all the honey you wanted and not have a HbA1c in the diabetic range
Click to expand...
 
Cas40 said:
Just going back to this, if the weight around the pancreas is lost and you are in the normal range, then isn’t your pancreas then functioning normally and you can eat all the honey you want and still be in normal range? Just curious, not intending to eat all the honey!
Click to expand...

I think an issue here is why you gained the weight in the first place. If you're genetically disposed to T2 then it seems that you are prone to gaining weight round your pancreas/liver as a side effect of insulin resistance, carbs and high insulin levels. So eating too many carbs (for your personal metabolism) is likely to push you out of remission. Having said that, it's quite likely that your carb tolerance will go up if you're in remission, it's just not infinite, and unlikely to cope with the amount of carbs pushed in modern diets.

Happy to be corrected by some more knowledgeable T2s :)
 
I suspect that I have always lacked the initial insulin response - and that it runs in the family - so although I have returned to what is normal for me, and am classed as in remission, sticking to low carb controls my weight.
By the way - eating honey has no effect on healing - you put it on the dressing for its antiseptic qualities.
 
Congratulations on reducing your HbA1c to nondiabetic levels. Just a clarification on honey though. As @Resurgam has just said some types of honey contain an active antibacterial compound that can help with wound healing of applied directly to the wound. Not all honey can do this and ones that can have been tested, labelled and are much more expensive than most honey.
Eating lots of honey could have the opposite effect. It could raise blood glucose levels which in turn would slow wound healing and increase the risk of bacterial infections. Lots of microbes just love sugar!
 
My understanding is that when the fat goes from around the pancreas and liver it goes back to functioning normally but if predisposed to putting weight on in that area it is important to be careful not to put it back on. But wondering if there is no weight there, and numbers are as a ‘normal’ person, presumably your pancreas acts as if you were ‘normal’- for want of a better word!



EllieM said:
I think an issue here is why you gained the weight in the first place. If you're genetically disposed to T2 then it seems that you are prone to gaining weight round your pancreas/liver as a side effect of insulin resistance, carbs and high insulin levels. So eating too many carbs (for your personal metabolism) is likely to push you out of remission. Having said that, it's quite likely that your carb tolerance will go up if you're in remission, it's just not infinite, and unlikely to cope with the amount of carbs pushed in modern diets.

Happy to be corrected by some more knowledgeable T2s :)
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Cas40 said:
presumably your pancreas acts as if you were ‘normal’
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We are T2's usually our pancreas works wonderfully and has no trouble producing insulin. Our problem is insulin resistance, our bodies can no longer use the insulin it produces efficiently. It's not all about weight/fat, if it was wouldn't that make life easy. The Newcastle diet where people were put on a very low cal diet for 8 weeks, had success rate of %50 it was hailed as a resounding success but didn't work for half of the participants. I strongly suspect that if those who were successful went back to what they were eating before the diet, they would find themselves back into T2 levels.
 
Cas40 said:
My understanding is that when the fat goes from around the pancreas and liver it goes back to functioning normally but if predisposed to putting weight on in that area it is important to be careful not to put it back on. But wondering if there is no weight there, and numbers are as a ‘normal’ person, presumably your pancreas acts as if you were ‘normal’- for want of a better word!
Click to expand...
Hi I wanted to know this x
 
catinahat said:
We are T2's usually our pancreas works wonderfully and has no trouble producing insulin. Our problem is insulin resistance, our bodies can no longer use the insulin it produces efficiently. It's not all about weight/fat, if it was wouldn't that make life easy. The Newcastle diet where people were put on a very low cal diet for 8 weeks, had success rate of %50 it was hailed as a resounding success but didn't work for half of the participants. I strongly suspect that if those who were successful went back to what they were eating before the diet, they would find themselves back into T2 levels.
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Hi yes but surly if you stick to low carb and the odd treat once you have reversed it then the diabetes won’t come back as long as you stick to the low carb diet and exercise and keep your hbc1a in the normal range then you should be ok x
 
Jayne1983 said:
then you should be ok
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Of course I agree that if you have got your levels into the non diabetic range and fancy a treat then it shouldn't cause any problem.
As long as the occasional treat now and again doesn't escalate into something more regular. Carbs are very addictive and carb creep can easily catch you out.
I was replying to Cas40 who asked
" if the weight around the pancreas is lost and you are in the normal range, then isn’t your pancreas then functioning normally and you can eat all the honey you want and still be in normal range?"
That would imply that if you get rid of the fat you will be free to eat what you want, which is sadly not the case
 
catinahat said:
Of course I agree that if you have got your levels into the non diabetic range and fancy a treat then it shouldn't cause any problem.
As long as the occasional treat now and again doesn't escalate into something more regular. Carbs are very addictive and carb creep can easily catch you out.
I was replying to Cas40 who asked
" if the weight around the pancreas is lost and you are in the normal range, then isn’t your pancreas then functioning normally and you can eat all the honey you want and still be in normal range?"
That would imply that if you get rid of the fat you will be free to eat what you want, which is sadly not the case
Click to expand...
Hi I’ve not had a treat yet I want to but I dare not lol my hbc1a was 54 in March then 36 in June and then November 35 im low carb 50 to 70 aday. So a treat now and then is ok? Yer I know I wouldn’t dare go bk to my old ways as long as a can have vodka on a weekend and chicken kabab no pitta I’m happy lol x sorry I miss understood you xx how long have you been diabetic? I hope your keeping ok xx
 
Jayne1983 said:
how long have you been diabetic?
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Coming up to 7 years since D day, found this forum soon after. Got to admit I thought the people here were nutter's, butter, cream, bacon, full fat everything for blood sugar control and weight loss ? Sounds insane.
But here I am 3 stone lighter and like you got my HbA1c down to non diabetic levels in a few months.
You have done extremely well getting down to 35, I think you have earned that treat, enjoy :hungry:
 
Jayne1983 said:
Hi I’ve not had a treat yet I want to but I dare not lol my hbc1a was 54 in March then 36 in June and then November 35 im low carb 50 to 70 aday. So a treat now and then is ok? Yer I know I wouldn’t dare go bk to my old ways as long as a can have vodka on a weekend and chicken kabab no pitta I’m happy lol x sorry I miss understood you xx how long have you been diabetic? I hope your keeping ok xx
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I look at it this way. I am diabetic and always will be. I have had elevated blood glucose thanks to my diabetes and the raised levels gave me a number of symptoms, My blood glucose is in normal levels only because I eat a 20g carb/day diet. there are occasions when I do not stick to 20g/day and these average about once a month over the last two years. That works for me, and I'm not yet where I want to be in getting rid of the excess weight accumulated before low carb, so i will be staying at this level for now.

As vodka is zero carb and a chicken kebab without bread (depending on what else you have with either) should be low carb as well your weekend treat sounds a pretty safe bet to me. Best way to find out if it works for you is to test before and two hours after eating/drinking.
 
catinahat said:
Of course I agree that if you have got your levels into the non diabetic range and fancy a treat then it shouldn't cause any problem.
As long as the occasional treat now and again doesn't escalate into something more regular. Carbs are very addictive and carb creep can easily catch you out.
I was replying to Cas40 who asked
" if the weight around the pancreas is lost and you are in the normal range, then isn’t your pancreas then functioning normally and you can eat all the honey you want and still be in normal range?"
That would imply that if you get rid of the fat you will be free to eat what you want, which is sadly not the case
Click to expand...
I wish losing all the weight would reverse the diabetes but for me not, I am not perfect and do have occasional treats but I do see it on my meter. For some foods it is longer impact, well into the next day and as you have alluded to, carbs are very addictive and also not very filling I have now found. It’s very much empty calories unfortunately

so, in my opinion, there may be some who lose the weight and have full reversal. But I don’t personally believe this is common, I personally feel it is a permanent intolerance to carbs for me. I am aware of maybe a couple on the forum who report a full reversal with libre checks to confirm, but perhaps due to length of being diabetic, or just general luck of genetics, I see myself as permanently diabetic and carbs need to be controlled life long
 
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