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Cholesterol, Visceral Fat, Blood Sugar/Pressure, and A1C

Writer's picture: Raw RevolutionRaw Revolution

Updated: Feb 9, 2022

Are you over the age of fifty and regularly feel under the weather, run down and out of sorts, or suffer from joint pain, forgetfulness, or depression?  If so, you should check your blood sugar and fat levels and start to monitor your blood pressure.  Most local drug stores sell blood glucose, trygliceride, cholesterol, A1C finger prick blood tests and blood pressure monitors that are very reasonably priced. Get on a scale and see how overweight you are.

A blood glucose monitor with a supply of ten test strips is priced reasonably and is available at your local drugstore.  Simply insert a test strip into the monitor, prick your finger using a lancing device, and draw blood onto the test strip.  A convenient and accurate blood glucose testing kit is the Contour NEXT Diabetes easy meter. Here is a video on how to use this monitor.

 
 

If your blood sugar is high, then the next thing you want to know is how long it has been high.  There is an over the counter test you can buy to see how much sugar coats the hemoglobin proteins of your red blood cells, or an A1C test (also called the glycated hemoglobin or HbA1c test).  Red blood cells have a lifespan of about four months and slowly get coated with excess sugar from your blood.  The longer you have constant high blood sugar levels, the more sugar-coated your red blood cells. As your blood sugar levels increase more frequently and for longer durations of time, the excess glucose in the blood will start to stick to red blood cells.  This places a sandpaper coating on your red blood cells that cause inflammation. According to the Mayo Clinic, a normal A1C level is below 5.7%. Someone with consistently high blood sugar levels for a period of several months may have an A1C level of 8% or higher. This test only needs to be performed infrequently because the lifespan of red blood cells is about four months. If your A1C level is above 6%, start modifying your diet. Usually, if your A1C level is high, this also means that your free fat (triglyceride) levels are also high. An A1C test is also readily available online or at your drug store. You simply prick your finger and follow the directions.  Here is a video on YouTube showing how to use this monitor.

 
 

Another important gauge is blood pressure. You can use a blood pressure monitor to measure the pressure in your arteries. Systolic pressure measures pressure during a heartbeat, and diastolic pressure measures pressure between heartbeats. These numbers are reported as systolic over diastolic. There is no specific time of day requirement to perform this test but it is generally best to have an empty bladder, and you should wait a while to test your blood pressure if you just ate, exercised, bathed, smoked, or consumed alcohol. A blood pressure monitor is also reasonably priced and available at your local drugstore. A universally available and accurate one is the Omron 5 Upper Arm Blood Pressure monitor. Simply wrap the strap around your left upper arm (heart side), hit the start button, and the monitor will build pressure in the strap and take a measurement. According to the Mayo Clinic, the upper edge of normal when it comes to blood pressure is 120 (systolic) over 80 (diastolic). If you are over forty and your blood pressure is over 120/80, your pressure is elevated. If your pressure is much higher, you can be classified as having stage 1 or 2 high blood pressure (hypertension), and you will require some level of lifestyle change and medication. Here is a video on YouTube showing how to use this monitor.

 
 

You can also test your peripheral blood pressure using a blood pressure monitor. When your ankle blood pressure is lower than your upper left arm blood pressure, this is bad news and it usually means you have peripheral artery disease. People with peripheral artery disease are much more likely to have impaired survival and if you have diabetes and peripheral artery disease, your chances of death increase substantially. Using a blood pressure monitor, wrap the strap around either ankle and take a measurement using your blood pressure monitor and compare this to the blood pressure taken from your heart side arm. Your ankle blood pressure should be higher than your arm blood pressure. According to the Mayo Clinic, peripheral blood pressure is a “quick, noninvasive way to check your risk of peripheral artery disease”. If the ratio between your ankle blood pressure and arm blood pressure is below one, in other words, if your ankle blood pressure is lower than your arm blood pressure, then this would suggest that you do not have any blockage, but if the reverse is happening, then you should see a doctor because this means you probably have narrowing of the arteries.

Finally, studies have shown that visceral fat compartments (fat occupying your abdominal area) secrete substances that act as inflammatory markers that contribute to metabolic disorders. The best method for measuring your visceral or tummy fat is by using a string. Cut a piece of string to the length of your height.  Fold the piece of string in half and wrap it around your waist at the widest point.  If the two ends are struggling to meet, your tummy is too large which means that your visceral fat levels may also be contributing to your overall deteriorating health.

 
 

So if you feel out of sorts, run-down, under the weather, or depressed, don’t just blame it on age, work, or your mood.  Take these very simple steps and see if there is something going on inside your body causing metabolic dysfunction.  Use these gauges to determine how well you are functioning metabolically as you start to age and you can significantly improve your health by making informed decisions about your lifestyle during the second half of your life.

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