Sugar Sponges: Red Blood Cells!
Red Blood Cells do many things. They contain hemoglobin, which absorbs oxygen; this oxygen is delivered to all over the body and is vital to life. At the lungs air is inhaled and absorbed into the blood in the lungs. From there this oxygenated blood is returned to the heart where it is pumped into the aorta and then throughout the body. This function is neither debated nor contested. It simply happens thousands of times a day.
Red blood cells have another function, which is to soak up glucose in the blood. Blood glucose excesses must be removed quickly, and red blood cells act like sponges to absorb excess blood glucose. This is called glycation of red blood cells. Because red blood cells live for 90 to 120 days they can be measured to determine the amount of glucose saturation in them at the time of the blood draw. This measurement is called a Hemoglobin A1c (HgA1c).
Hemoglobin A1c is measured as a percent of saturation of glucose in red blood cells. There is controversy about the meaning of the percentages, but we can agree that red blood cells should not become reservoirs for blood glucose. The amount of glycation begins at 5 percent, which means the blood sugar average over the past 90 days is 100mg/deciliter. For each full percentage point, add 40mg. This means that an HgA1c of 6.5% is equal to blood sugar level of 160mg/deciliter. Normal blood sugar should hold in a steady state of 70mg/deciliter to 99mg/deciliter - an HgA1c of 4.9%.
The ADA (American Diabetes Association) recommends that a HgA1c of 7.7% (blood sugar equal to 208mg/deciliter) is within their standard. This seems a very poor recommendation as we know that blood sugar levels of 130mg/deciliter can cause micro-trauma to blood vessels. Controversy is created by suggesting the diabetic community use this standard. The ADA is suggesting that a high blood sugar is harmless. We know that a high blood sugar is just as dangerous and a low blood sugar.
Further controversy is created when practitioners disagree about the meaning of the percentages. Some say that each percentage point is worth 20mg/deciliter or 30mg/deciliter. The use of low numbers such as 6% or 8% minimizes the dangerous levels the blood sugar/insulin has reached. Most diabetics have very poor understanding when it comes to interpreting their HgA1c.
One client bragged that her HgA1c was 11%. When I explained that her average daily blood sugar was 340mg/deciliter, she was understandably frightened. With much hard work and education, she was able to reduce her blood sugars to 200mg/deciliter in one week.
When red blood cells become glycated, they become sticky and swollen. This damages the blood vessels, the kidney filtration system and the delicate vessels of the retina. There is further damning evidence that blood sugar and blood insulin are implicated in the loss of cognitive functioning.
In 2005 an article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, demonstrates how cognitive functioning in older women is related to their blood sugar/insulin control. Since 1976 nurses have been voluntarily participating in all kinds of studies, including this one between the years1989-1990 and 1996-2001 done by Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. The conclusion of the study is that cognitive ability goes down as blood sugar and blood insulin goes up.
The study group selected did not have diabetes, which makes the conclusion of the research interesting. It indicates that is the phases that lead to a diabetic condition, insulin demand, is very high. The researchers were looking for a specific blood marker called a 'plasma C peptide' that measures circulating blood insulin. Insulin is produced by the pancreas in order to remove sugar from the blood. Circulating insulin creates increases in amyloid beta, which is implicated in the development of Alzheimer disease.
Quoting directly from the article 'Plasma C Peptide Level and Cognitive Function Among Older Women Without Diabetes Mellitus' from Arch. Int.Med/Vol 165, July 25,2005; O. Okerke, MD, S. Hankinson, ScD, F. Hu,Phd, F. Grodstein, Scd. p 1655: "Among women without diabetes, we found significantly worse cognitive function for those with higher compared with lower levels of C Peptide. Higher insulin secretion, even before the development of diabetes, may lead to vascular damage and thus be an indirect source of cognitive impairment."
Let the alarm be sounded, it is time to prevent chronic disease,
Nadine Campbell, R.N., August 7, 2010
Nadine Campbell RN
August 7, 2010
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