How does a physician know someone has diabetes and needs treatment?
For years, fasting blood glucose (blood sugar) and oral glucose tolerance tests were the primary diagnostics doctors used to determine whether or not a patient has diabetes. Today, glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) is the new gold standard. This test measures the average glucose level during the two to three months prior to the blood draw, so it’s a broader picture than the “snapshot” the other tests provide. An A1C level higher than 6 percent is indicative of blood sugar problems, and 6.5 percent is the cutoff for a diagnosis of diabetes.
If a doctor diagnoses you with type 1 diabetes, you’ll immediately—and unavoidably—be prescribed insulin. If the diagnosis is type 2 diabetes, which nine times out of 10 is the case, you’ll likely be told to make some changes in your diet and to begin exercising. Beyond that, if it’s a conventional physician, a prescription drug will likely also be dangled in front of you, if not to begin at once, then to start if your blood glucose and A1C levels don’t normalize with lifestyle measures.
Prescribing drugs is what physicians do. In fact, medical school education is largely an exercise in learning what drugs to prescribe for which conditions. Studies published in the most prestigious medical journals routinely compare the benefits of one drug to another. Prescription meds are simply the heart and soul of modern medicine.
Although diabetes medications may be effective in helping to lower blood sugar, each and every one of them has its price. The oral hypoglycemic (blood glucose–lowering) agents are no more than a Band-Aid approach to diabetes—they lower blood sugar, but do nothing to address the underlying condition. For example, one popular class of drugs, sulfonylureas, increase insulin production. However, most people with type 2 diabetes produce too much insulin! These folks are not insulin deficient; they’re insulin resistant.
For years, doctors have known the potential dangers of oral hypoglycemic drugs, but for whatever reason, they continue to prescribe them to patients. This is a shame, given the number of blood sugar supplements and other, more natural treatments for diabetes that exist.
Stay tuned for my top supplements for diabetes and other natural remedies for diabetes.
For more information on Dr. Whitaker's recommendations for healthy daily living, visit www.drwhitaker.com.
For years, fasting blood glucose (blood sugar) and oral glucose tolerance tests were the primary diagnostics doctors used to determine whether or not a patient has diabetes. Today, glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) is the new gold standard. This test measures the average glucose level during the two to three months prior to the blood draw, so it’s a broader picture than the “snapshot” the other tests provide. An A1C level higher than 6 percent is indicative of blood sugar problems, and 6.5 percent is the cutoff for a diagnosis of diabetes.
If a doctor diagnoses you with type 1 diabetes, you’ll immediately—and unavoidably—be prescribed insulin. If the diagnosis is type 2 diabetes, which nine times out of 10 is the case, you’ll likely be told to make some changes in your diet and to begin exercising. Beyond that, if it’s a conventional physician, a prescription drug will likely also be dangled in front of you, if not to begin at once, then to start if your blood glucose and A1C levels don’t normalize with lifestyle measures.
Prescribing drugs is what physicians do. In fact, medical school education is largely an exercise in learning what drugs to prescribe for which conditions. Studies published in the most prestigious medical journals routinely compare the benefits of one drug to another. Prescription meds are simply the heart and soul of modern medicine.
Although diabetes medications may be effective in helping to lower blood sugar, each and every one of them has its price. The oral hypoglycemic (blood glucose–lowering) agents are no more than a Band-Aid approach to diabetes—they lower blood sugar, but do nothing to address the underlying condition. For example, one popular class of drugs, sulfonylureas, increase insulin production. However, most people with type 2 diabetes produce too much insulin! These folks are not insulin deficient; they’re insulin resistant.
For years, doctors have known the potential dangers of oral hypoglycemic drugs, but for whatever reason, they continue to prescribe them to patients. This is a shame, given the number of blood sugar supplements and other, more natural treatments for diabetes that exist.
Stay tuned for my top supplements for diabetes and other natural remedies for diabetes.
For more information on Dr. Whitaker's recommendations for healthy daily living, visit www.drwhitaker.com.
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