insidious and damage to the body can occur even before full-blown diabetes is first discovered, it is vitally important to be aware of the possibility you have pre-diabetes and of the degree of risk you may already suffer( see Chapter 24).
If you are hesitating, consider this: We are not talking about headaches, acid indigestion or ingrown toenails here. Need I remind you that the conditions the GTT with insulin levels can detect can be precursors to diabetes? Sixteen million people have diabetes. One in three doesn ' t know he or she has it.
If you don ' t want to be drafted into the diabetic army, it pays to find out right now if you are a potential recruit. If your blood tests show you that you ' re well along the road, you will suddenly have a reason for doing Atkins that is far stronger than your desire to shed excess poundage.( If you became overweight early in life, this may have serious implications for your children, too. Check your blood-sugar and insulin levels so that you can know what condition they may have inherited from you. Taking early action to address the same issues in their diets can make a big difference.)
The GTT measures your blood sugar after twelve hours of fasting and then over the course of five to six hours after you drink a sugary liquid with no other food or beverage. Any variation from the normal range may be viewed with suspicion. If the highest reading is over 160 mg / cc, it may suggest pre-diabetes; if the lowest reading is thirty percent below your baseline, or below 60 mg / cc, you may have reactive hypoglycemia( more accurately called unstable blood sugar), an early stage of diabetes. If the difference between the highest and lowest readings is over 90 mg / cc, it may indicate a problem, as does a drop in sugar level of 60 points or more within an hour. Many other criteria exist to show deviations from normal-all of which take on more importance if other symptoms exist, such as dizziness, trembling, palpitations, brain fog, craving sweets, bingeing or other compulsive eating behaviors. If you have a family history of diabetes, it is essential that you be properly tested.
Insulin levels should be measured along with your blood-glucose levels, at the fasting and one- and two-hour stages. Your fasting insulin should be below 19 units. One hour after the glucose drink, your insulin should be under 100, and two hours after it should be below 60. I see some people in my practice with readings as high as 600.
Note: The GTT results are not considered accurate unless you are consuming at least 150 grams of carbs a day for at least four days before you take the test. Therefore, doing it after you start Atkins would mean you ' d have to go back temporarily to eating a high-carbohydrate diet( and almost certainly regain some of the pounds you have just successfully lost).
If your GTT results point to problems in your body ' s ability to metabolize sugar, this alone should motivate you to change your diet. If your results are normal, you can count yourself fortunate that your new way of eating will forestall any future blood-sugar and insulin problems. Let me remind you that although the Atkins plan has a positive effect on many conditions, if you have serious health problems, you must see your doctor before starting! You will need his or her help in monitoring your changing metabolism.
Now that you ' ve addressed the medical issues, it ' s time to ready your kitchen, your loved ones and your own mind set. Don ' t skip any steps; each one will help make this one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.
77