The A1C test is a blood test that provides information about a person’s average levels of blood glucose, also called blood sugar, over the past 3 months.

The A1C test is based on the attachment of glucose to hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Thus, the A1C test reflects the average of a person’s blood glucose levels over the past 3 months.

Because the A1C test does not require fasting and blood can be drawn for the test at any time of day, experts are hoping its convenience will allow more people to get tested—thus, decreasing the number of people with undiagnosed diabetes.

The A1C test may be used at the first visit to the health care provider during pregnancy to see if women with risk factors had undiagnosed diabetes before becoming pregnant. After that, the oral glucose tolerance test is used to test for diabetes that develops during pregnancy—known as gestational diabetes.

The standard blood glucose tests used for diagnosing type 2 diabetes and prediabetes—the fasting plasma glucose test and the OGTT—are still recommended. The random plasma glucose test may be used for diagnosing diabetes when symptoms of diabetes are present.

The A1C test can be unreliable for diagnosing or monitoring diabetes in people with certain conditions that are known to interfere with the results.

The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with diabetes who are meeting treatment goals and have stable blood glucose levels have the A1C test twice a year.

Estimated average glucose is calculated from the A1C to help people with diabetes relate their A1C to daily glucose monitoring levels.

People will have different A1C targets depending on their diabetes history and their general health. People should discuss their A1C target with their health care provider.

Hope through Research

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases conducts and supports research related to the causes, treatment, and prevention of diabetes. Many ongoing research studies use the A1C test to measure and compare the success of different treatments or medications for diabetes care. In addition, researchers continue to improve measurement of A1C.

Clinical trials are research studies involving people. Clinical trials look at safe and effective new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Researchers also use clinical trials to look at other aspects of care, such as improving the quality of life for people with chronic illnesses.

Here at Cheryl Farley Wellness we have conducted clinical trials for people with type 2 diabetes. Many of our participants felt hopeless. After only 10 days they found our program to be a safe and effective way to lower A1C levels. Medications were reduced and one person was no longer considered a type 2 diabetic.

I’d like to help you lower your A1C.

Cheryl~

adapted from NDIC

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