Researchers at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana followed more than 29,000 patients with type 2 diabetes for two years. They found that wide swings in blood sugar levels between doctor visits were associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
It’s not yet clear why such fluctuations might cause problems, but it’s possible that episodes of very low blood sugar play a role. Ordinarily, doctors check fasting blood sugar or use a an A1c test, which gives a picture of average blood sugar levels over the previous two to three months.
Some scientists believe that wide swings in blood sugar are an even better predictor of diabetes-related problems than the A1c test. An individual fasting blood sugar or A1c test won’t capture wide variations in blood sugar.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 88 million adult Americans have already begun to have “prediabetic” problems with blood sugar and could be on the road to the disease, though 84 percent don’t know it.
To help reduce the chance of problems, the researchers suggest therapies that can reduce wide swings in blood sugar levels. What can cause blood sugar levels to rise? You can find a free e-book as well as eSavvyHealth course offerings that can help you answer this question here.
