Screening for Diabetes: What Is the Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) Test?
Getting to the root cause of your health concerns requires some medical detective work. And this often starts with testing the body to figure out what’s wrong.
For example, do you suspect you have diabetes?
If so, one of the best ways to screen for diabetes is to get tested using the fasting blood glucose (FBG) test. Keep reading to find out how it works and how Dr. Cheryl at Vital Health Solutions can help you.
How the Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) Test Works
The fasting blood glucose test evaluates your blood sugar after you have fasted (no food or drink, except water) for at least eight hours overnight. It’s often administered in the morning before breakfast.
If your blood sugar level is less than 100 mg/dL, this is normal. Anything over 100 mg/dL can indicate pre-diabetes, and a level of 126 mg/dL or higher means you have diabetes.
While the fasting blood glucose test doesn’t tell you how your blood sugar changes or reacts to the foods you eat, it is a good indication of whether you have diabetes or not.
Why Screening for Diabetes is Important
If you suspect you have diabetes or pre-diabetes, visit your primary care physician as soon as possible. You may need the fasting blood glucose test and/or additional testing for your health.
At Vital Health Solutions, we believe that waiting for diabetes to develop before starting treatment wastes precious opportunities to promote a healthy life. Without prevention and treatment, diabetes can lead to many other chronic health conditions such as retinal, nerve, vascular, and kidney complications.
Instead, Dr. Cheryl Winter, DCN and CDE, uses functional medicine to address the root cause of diabetes rather than treating the symptoms. Through this approach, she seeks to prevent and treat diabetes through lifestyle and diet alterations so you can truly live again.
How Is Vital Health Solutions Lab Testing Different?
Primary practitioners run only bare-bones lab tests that don’t always uncover the root of your health problems. Unfortunately, this leads to false negatives and long-term illnesses that could be treated sooner if only they were properly identified through comprehensive lab tests.
Dr. Cheryl strives to make sure each one of her patients is feeling their best. The tests she runs, such as the fasting blood glucose test, are specialized and take the skilled eye of functionally trained practitioners. She also partners with reputable laboratories that provide high-quality results in a timely manner.
Change Your Diet, Change Your Life
Food is healthcare. It’s the best way to heal your body and transform your life.
Besides the fasting blood glucose test, Dr. Cheryl offers professional nutritional counseling to help improve symptoms and prevent worsening of your diabetes.
It is no secret that you need to adjust your carb quality and quantity if you have diabetes. Low-fiber and high-starch levels put you at a higher risk of diabetes.
For example, qualified nutritionists recommend steering away from refined carbs such as bread and pasta. Instead, consume moderate quantities of plantains and starchy tubers (cassava, rutabaga, beets, and sweet potatoes). If you are not lactose intolerant, moderate quantities of full-fat dairy are also beneficial.
Nutrition advice from a functional medicine perspective often includes the following:
- Adopting a gluten-free diet
- Trying the ketogenic diet
- Increasing your protein intake to improve satiety and blood sugar levels
There are plenty of paleo-friendly foods that help in treating diabetes as well. Some of them include the following:
- Cacao: Small amounts of dark chocolate can surprisingly help manage diabetes. Studies show cacao reduces blood sugar levels after eating a meal. It also promotes the swift delivery of glucose to your muscles.
- Blueberries: Blueberries have the properties of being able to improve control of glucose in your body. These properties come from the fruit’s large amounts of anthocyanins. These compounds have anti-inflammatory effects and also improve your body’s utilization of glucose.
- Tea and Coffee: According to research, coffee can decrease the risk of diabetes because it helps fight oxidative stress. Tea can also encourage better gut microbiota. Coffee and green tea are both rich in antioxidants that help treat or reverse diabetes.
Vital Health Solutions Can Help You
A fasting blood glucose test is just the beginning. Our team at Vital Health Solutions is eager to help you take control of your health and prevent the progression of diabetes so you can live a long and prosperous life.
The food you put in your body has a direct effect on the way you feel and function. With our counseling, you can improve that function by making customized dietary changes that will help your diabetes.
You never need to be afraid that you’ll be scolded for eating “unhealthy” food when you visit us. Dr. Cheryl is here to offer advice and help with nutrition (which includes food intake and supplements) so that you can improve your blood sugar levels and diabetic symptoms.
Start Taking Control of Your Diabetes Today
Are you concerned about how your diet is affecting your diabetes? Are you ready to take steps in the right direction to improve your chances of living healthfully?
Whether you’re already diagnosed with diabetes or worried that you might be pre-diabetic, Dr. Cheryl can help you. After taking you through a fasting blood glucose test, she can create a personalized nutrition plan for diabetes to ensure that you live your best life possible.
“Today’s conventional medicine model is NOT healthcare,” Dr. Cheryl says. “It’s sick care. Together, I will help you achieve REAL healthcare, through a variety of non-conventional prescriptions . . . that will nourish your body and mind and rejuvenate your inner soul.”
Click here to register for a free fifteen-minute discovery call with Dr. Cheryl to start creating your personalized nutrition plan for combating diabetes today.
We at Vital Health Solutions can’t wait to help you truly flourish despite your disease – so you can dance harmoniously through life again.