Hba1c level 40, how much do I need to worry/change?

[Dontknowwhattothink]

Hi,

I have various health problems so ran a load of blood tests including Hba1c Through medichecks. The result has come back as 40 and the report says that I am prediabetic and should cut down on white bread, rice, pasta and potatos. I have been looking at info today and from what I can see prediabetic is 42. it has gone up in the last year from 30.7. I know I have been eating way too much sugary stuff over Christmas (cakes, chocolates, biscuits every night, puddings etc). I don’t normally eat too much sugary fatty food becuase I had balls tones so can’t digest it very easily but I have been hitting the luxury biscuits in a big way.

Is 40 prediabetic?
could all of the sugary food over Christmas be responsible for the rise and it’s just temporary?
Ive also been under a lot of stress which is partly why I’ve eaten so much sugary stuff, can this affect the result?
How worried do I need to be? Do I need a complete diet overhaul or is cutting down on the chocolate, biscuits, cake etc enough?
Do I really need to cut out or reduce bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc? I usually have brown rice but do eat gluten free white bread and gluten free pasta that isn’t wholemeal And I do eat potatoes.

I don’t want to bother the GP for nothing and am going to re test in 3 months,

thanks everyone

 

[AloeSvea]

How much you need to change is up to you! And your doctor, if it suits. It depends on your personal health goals, I would say. An HBA1c of 40 is not in the prediabetes range in either of my two countries (Sweden and Aotearoa/New Zealand). But it is borderline.

Cutting down on the chocolate, cake etc cannot be bad! Nor would reducing pasta, rice and potatoes, especially if you are looking to reduce your waist line while you are at it? Generally considered to be healthy and anti-diabetes, and anti-cardio-vascular disease.

 

[catinahat]

In the UK 40 is at the top end of normal, 42 is where you get diagnosed with pre diabetes and over 47 is T2
Everyone no matter what their HbA1c would probably benefit from a little less biscuits, chocolates and cakes. For most people though a treat now and then does no real harm, the main problem is the amount of carbohydrates in today's diet.
Apart from the fiber which passes right through, all carbs when digested will cause an increase in blood sugar. Brown, white, wholemeal, gluten free will all have the same effect, the only difference is the white, bread/pasta/rice is easier for your body to process and will hit your blood slightly quicker than the wholemeal version's.

could all of the sugary food over Christmas be responsible for the rise and it’s just temporary

The HbA1c measures how much glucose as stuck to your blood cells over their lifetime, roughly 12 weeks.
So yes, any Christmas extras will have contributed. But if your glucose controls were working efficiently, that glucose would have been dealt with, the food isn't to blame, it your ability to deal with carbohydrates that has changed.

Do I need a complete diet overhaul or is cutting down on the chocolate, biscuits, cake etc enough?

As I see it you have got two choices, you can carry on enjoying your carbs until you are forced to do something about it because you are diagnosed with T2, to add to your other medical problems.
Or you can take action now, chances are you will be able to avoid adding to your medical problems, you may even improve some of the conditions you already have.
I know for me a lower carb diet improved my blood pressure, my IBS disappeared and my cholesterol levels came down.

 

[KennyA]

Hi,

I have various health problems so ran a load of blood tests including Hba1c Through medichecks. The result has come back as 40 and the report says that I am prediabetic and should cut down on white bread, rice, pasta and potatos. I have been looking at info today and from what I can see prediabetic is 42. it has gone up in the last year from 30.7. I know I have been eating way too much sugary stuff over Christmas (cakes, chocolates, biscuits every night, puddings etc). I don’t normally eat too much sugary fatty food becuase I had balls tones so can’t digest it very easily but I have been hitting the luxury biscuits in a big way.

Is 40 prediabetic?
could all of the sugary food over Christmas be responsible for the rise and it’s just temporary?
Ive also been under a lot of stress which is partly why I’ve eaten so much sugary stuff, can this affect the result?
How worried do I need to be? Do I need a complete diet overhaul or is cutting down on the chocolate, biscuits, cake etc enough?
Do I really need to cut out or reduce bread, pasta, rice, potatoes etc? I usually have brown rice but do eat gluten free white bread and gluten free pasta that isn’t wholemeal And I do eat potatoes.

I don’t want to bother the GP for nothing and am going to re test in 3 months,

thanks everyone

40 is a normal A1c result in the UK. However, if your last one was 30 (which is low) then the recent quick rise might indicate something going on. The A1c is an estimate based on your red blood cells - it gives a kind of average of your blood sugar levels over the last three months or so, slightly skewed towards the most recent weeks. The problem with the HbA1c is that it doesn't show what your blood sugar is today, and it doesn't tell you the "before-and-after" impact of particular foods. For that you would need a glucose meter and a series of fingerprick tests.

Think of it as the A1c is a map, but the fingerprick tests are your satnav, telling you what's going on right now.

What you eat does have a huge impact on your blood glucose level but other things do as well. If you have been eating a lot of carb recently via biscuits and cake that would be my first suspect. Removing those while keeping everything else the same would see a reduction in carb intake and there might well be a consequent fall in blood sugar levels. If that doesn't work you could remove more carbs from your diet.

My concern is really that your A1c has increased (assuming the tests are accurate) from 30 to 40 in a year, which is a big rise.
You started off very low but I think you should be looking to establish whether the rise you've seen is continuing. A glucose meter would help with that, but I also think you should contact your GP. The NHS will do its own tests and won't necessarily trust any you've had done yourself.

 

[Dontknowwhattothink]

40 is a normal A1c result in the UK. However, if your last one was 30 (which is low) then the recent quick rise might indicate something going on. The A1c is an estimate based on your red blood cells - it gives a kind of average of your blood sugar levels over the last three months or so, slightly skewed towards the most recent weeks. The problem with the HbA1c is that it doesn't show what your blood sugar is today, and it doesn't tell you the "before-and-after" impact of particular foods. For that you would need a glucose meter and a series of fingerprick tests.

Think of it as the A1c is a map, but the fingerprick tests are your satnav, telling you what's going on right now.

What you eat does have a huge impact on your blood glucose level but other things do as well. If you have been eating a lot of carb recently via biscuits and cake that would be my first suspect. Removing those while keeping everything else the same would see a reduction in carb intake and there might well be a consequent fall in blood sugar levels. If that doesn't work you could remove more carbs from your diet.

My concern is really that your A1c has increased (assuming the tests are accurate) from 30 to 40 in a year, which is a big rise.
You started off very low but I think you should be looking to establish whether the rise you've seen is continuing. A glucose meter would help with that, but I also think you should contact your GP. The NHS will do its own tests and won't necessarily trust any you've had done yourself.

Thanks for that, it all makes sense, I will go to the gp and see if I can get some more bloods done, I have no reason to think it’s not accurate but who knows. I think I will but a monitor too, I have cut out a lot of sugary stuff already and have been looking at low carb. I also cant have much fat becuase I had my gallbladder removed so I can’t go down the low carb high fat route, also need to keep an eye on cholesterol.

it feels like it’s all a big mess really, I cut out all of the fatty stuff while waiting for surgery because I couldn’t eat it at all and after surgery that hasn’t improved. I think I’ve been so focussed on not eating fat that I’ve ended up eating too many carbs and I don’t eat dairy or eggs either because of fat which I think makes blood sugar worse. I have CFS so am in bed most of the time and I have piled the weight back due to a lot of Stress in the last year. It all feels pretty impossible to manage at the moment