What items should be checked in a blood test for diabetes?

If you are worried that you may have diabetes, you can go to the hospital to have a blood test for blood sugar to confirm the diagnosis. However, if you want to further determine whether it is type I or type II, you need to do further tests. So what are the items in the diabetes test and what are the tests?

What blood tests are needed for diabetes?

In China, the main method is to test the presence or absence of diabetes through an OGTT blood test. For adults, fasting blood sugar is tested first. Then 75 grams of anhydrous glucose is taken orally at one time, and the venous blood sugar level is measured half an hour, one hour, two hours, and three hours after taking the glucose.

Based on the test results, it is clear whether it is diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance (commonly known as "prediabetes"), or normal levels.

For adults (except pregnant women), if the OGTT test indicates that the fasting blood sugar is ≥7.0mmol/L or the postprandial blood sugar is ≥11.1mmol/L, the possibility of "diabetes" can be preliminarily considered; if the fasting blood sugar is 6.1～<7.0mmol/l and the blood sugar is <7.8mmol/l 2 hours after the sugar load, it can be considered as "impaired fasting blood sugar"; if the fasting blood sugar is <7.0mmol/l and the blood sugar is ≥7.8-<11.1mmol/l 2 hours after the sugar load, it can be considered as "impaired glucose tolerance". Impaired fasting blood sugar and impaired glucose tolerance are what we usually call "prediabetes".

In the past, we mainly screened for diabetes by taking blood samples to test fasting blood sugar, but later we found that many patients with normal fasting blood sugar actually had significantly higher blood sugar after meals. It is easy to miss diabetic patients with elevated blood sugar after meals by simply screening fasting blood sugar. Therefore, for screening of people at high risk of diabetes, OGTT is more preferred to avoid missed diagnosis.

However, OGTT is only an initial screening test and cannot determine the specific type of diabetes. Further examination is still needed.

What items should be checked for diabetes?

Fasting blood sugar

Fasting blood sugar refers to the blood sugar measured by having blood drawn at the hospital after fasting overnight, that is, not eating any food (except drinking water) for at least 8 to 10 hours.

Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)

The glucose tolerance test is generally used for patients with prediabetes or suspected diabetes but without obvious symptoms and who cannot be diagnosed based on fasting blood sugar alone.

This test is mainly used to detect the body's ability to regulate blood sugar. In a healthy person's body, the sugar regulation mechanism is intact. No matter how much glucose is ingested, the glucose concentration in the blood can be maintained in a relatively stable range. Even if a large amount of sugar is ingested at one time, the blood sugar concentration is only temporarily slightly increased and will return to normal after 2 to 3 hours.

Glycated hemoglobin

Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, which reacts with glucose entering the blood to form a new substance: glycosylated hemoglobin, which is wrapped in hemoglobin like a layer of sugar paper. The higher the average blood sugar level, the thicker the sugar paper layer.

Checking glycated hemoglobin is to check the thickness of this "candy wrapper". However, this "candy wrapper" is attached to red blood cells, and the life cycle of red blood cells is 120 days, so the "candy wrapper" also has 120 days. Therefore, glycated hemoglobin can be checked after diagnosis, and a comprehensive understanding of the average blood sugar level of the patient in the past 3 months can be obtained.

A glycated hemoglobin level of less than 5.7% is normal, between 5.7% and 6.4% is prediabetes, and greater than or equal to 6.5% may indicate type 2 diabetes.

What is the best food for diabetic patients?

First of all, there are many foods that diabetics can eat normally, including eggs, milk, soybeans, soy products, vegetables, and various meats. Diabetics do not need to avoid these foods because the carbohydrate (sugar) content in them is relatively appropriate and will not affect blood sugar too much.

The only thing to note is the cooking method. It is best to cook in a light way and avoid deep frying, stir-frying, grilling, dry-frying and other oily methods. When choosing ingredients, avoid those with high fat content. It is more beneficial to choose low-fat and low-calorie ones. Because if diabetics have symptoms such as high blood lipids and obesity, it may increase insulin load and insulin resistance, which is not conducive to blood sugar control.

Fruits are also completely edible. Although fruits are rich in sugar, these natural sugars have a much smaller impact on blood sugar. They are inhibited by dietary fiber, phytic acid tannic acid and other ingredients. In addition, fruits are rich in fructose and water, which are factors that can slow down the rate of blood sugar rise. Fruits are rich in nutrients, and as long as diabetics eat them appropriately, their blood sugar will not be affected too much. However, it is best to eat less than 100g at a time, and no more than half a catty a day.

In addition, the foods to pay attention to first are foods that have more refined sugars directly added to them. Also, be careful of foods that contain some "hidden sugars", sugars that are not easy to detect, such as foods with fillings, glutinous rice balls, sugar buns, sugar-coated snacks, sugar-coated nuts, etc.

There are also "starch-rich" foods. The finer and more delicate the starchy foods are, the better they should be chewed and swallowed slowly. It is not advisable to eat too much. It is best to mix these refined white grains with meat and vegetables. Some "sugar-free foods" should not be eaten casually.