HEALTH AND WELLNESS
The Best Diet to Lower
A1C Levels
Article by Dr. Peminda Cabandugama, MD,
Dr. Shirin Jaggi, DO
Diabetes is more common than you might think. More than 37 million people are living with diabetes in the United States—or 1 in 10 people, according to the CDC. The vast majority of those people have Type 2 diabetes. Unlike Type 1 diabetes, which is caused by an autoimmune reaction that stops the body from making insulin, your body still makes insulin if you have Type 2 diabetes. But it has trouble doing so. Keeping your blood sugar in check through a healthy diet can help manage diabetes or prevent it altogether.
So, how do you know your blood sugar? A doctor will usually refer to something called "A1C." "A1C, or glycated hemoglobin, is a simple blood test that measures how much glucose binds to a red blood cell in three months, [which is] the life span of a red blood cell," says Dr. Peminda Cabandugama, MD, an endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic.
Though people with diabetes may test and report blood sugar numbers after meals, the A1C gives providers a more comprehensive view of your glucose levels. "It gives insight into your overall blood sugar control over months, and it can help diagnose whether you are in the normal, prediabetic or diabetic range," says Dr. Shirin Jaggi, DO, an endocrinologist with Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York.
If you need to lower your A1C, diet can help—but which one? Here's what experts say.