The blood sugar levels belong – as well as the blood lipids – to the routine values on the laboratory results. They are mainly used for the diagnosis and treatment control of diabetes mellitus. But what do the different measured values mean? Why do you have to fast for some values? And what does our blood sugar have to do with our life expectancy? In this part of the laboratory series, we will look at exactly that.
Sugar in the blood – why do we need it anyway?
Our body needs energy – and a lot of it. The main mechanism by which our cells obtain energy is glycolysis, the citric acid cycle and the respiratory chainIn this process, sugar molecules (glucose) are “burned” with the help of oxygen and ATP is produced. ATP is the abbreviation for Adenosinetriphosphate. ATP can also be described as the energy currency of the cell. If we want to move our muscles, for example, we need ATP to make our muscle fibers contract. At rest, our brain is the largest consumer of glucose in the entire body. About 20% of all sugar is consumed by our brain – even at night.
Our cells need “sugar” around the clock to be able to work. For this reason, about 5g of glucose in our blood at any given time.
To give you a better idea of what your body does every day, here are a few numbers: According to Mergenthaler et al., 2013, the human brain needs about 5.6mg of glucose per 100 grams of brain substance per minute. With an average brain weight of 1400 grams, that is 78.4mg per minute. That is 4.7 grams per hour and about 113 grams of glucose per day. And that's just for your brain!
At least as impressive is the fact how much ATP your body consumes per dayOn average it is about 65kg or as much as you weigh. Your ATP is recycled about 1000 to 1500 times a day, otherwise we would have to carry a lot of extra weight around with us.
To ensure that our cells are supplied with glucose, we have sugar storage in the form of glycogenGlycogen is a molecule that consists of many glucose molecules strung together. These can be split off when necessary and distributed from the liver into the blood, for example.
Fasting blood sugar, long-term blood sugar – what types of measurements are there?
If you want to know your blood sugar level, there are different ways to measure it. The simplest method is a self-test with test strips and the corresponding measuring device. Both are usually available in the pharmacy. For this type of test, you need a small drop of blood, which is placed on the test strip and a few seconds later the test device spits out the blood sugar level. The advantage of this method is that it is easy to carry out.However, it only provides a partial insight into blood sugar metabolism.
A much more informative method is the use of glucose trackers, also Continuous Glucose Monitor (GGM).As the name suggests, these devices continuously measure your blood sugar and send this information to your smartphone, for example. This way you can see “live” how your body reacts to different foods. You can buy corresponding sensors for around €100. The lifespan of a sensor is around two weeks - enough time to test the blood sugar reaction to different products!
In addition to these two methods, there are the following options for assessing blood sugar metabolism. This usually requires a blood sample or a few drops of blood:
- fasting blood sugar (FPG): Fasting blood sugar is when one has not eaten anything for at least eight hoursThis value is therefore usually measured in the morning and should be not more than 100 mg/dl lay.
- HbA1c: This value is colloquially known as “long-term sugar“. It measures the concentration of red blood cells that are loaded with a sugar molecule. Since red blood cells have a lifespan of about three months, this allows the Assess blood sugar situation over the last eight to twelve weeks. In the case of lifestyle or dietary changes, it only makes sense to check the HbA1c value after about three months. High blood sugar levels lead to higher HbA1c values. There are different limit values depending on age. The value should be below 5.7% lay.
- Opportunity plasma glucose (GPK): This is the blood sugar level regardless of food intake. It varies greatly and is not particularly meaningful. The target value is below 200 mg/dl.
A blood sugar measurement is easy to do and provides information about the blood sugar level at specific times.
Too high blood sugar levels – what’s behind it?
If your blood sugar levels are too high, this can be a sign of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common diseases worldwide. The most common variants or types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes mellitus, by the immune system to destroy beta cells in our pancreas. The beta cells produce the hormone insulin. To put it simply you can imagine insulin as a key, which is needed to bring the glucose from the blood into our cells. In type 1 diabetics, this key is missing, which is why the door to the inside of the cell remains closed and the sugar level in the blood becomes too high.
Type 2 diabetics have a different problem. Their cells have become increasingly "resistant" to insulin. So the key doesn't work so well anymore. insulin resistance is the precursor to diabetes and, due to the significantly high number of unreported cases, is a silent epidemic. The good news is that insulin resistance or prediabetes is still reversible.
Do you know where the name diabetes mellitus comes from? “Diabetes” comes from the Greek and means something like “flow through“, while “mellitus” comes from Latin and means “honey-sweet" means.
The disease was already known in ancient times – with the main symptom of “sweet” urine. If the blood sugar is significantly too high, the body excretes some of the excess glucose through the urineSince it was not possible to measure blood sugar levels in the past, those affected were identified by their sweet-tasting urine.
In the National Care Guidelines of Germany, the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus type 2 is defined as follows:
At least two values of fasting blood sugar, HbA1c or random blood sugar must be pathological. What exactly does pathological mean? Here, too, the guidelines contain the relevant threshold values:
| No diabetes | Increased risk of diabetes | diabetes | |
| fasting blood sugar | < 100 mg/dl (< 5.6 mmol/l) | 100 – 125 mg/dl (5.6 – 6.9 mmol/l) | from 126 mg/dl (from 7.0 mmol/l) |
| HbA1c | < 5.7% (< 39 mmol/mol) | 5.7 to 6.4% (39 to 47 mmol/mol) | from 6.5% (from 48 mmol/mol) |
| random plasma glucose | from 200 mg/dl (from 11 mmol/l) |
If the values are not clear, an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) can be performed.
Sugar comes in many different forms. Basically, they all promote insulin resistance to a similar extent.
OGTT – what does the oral glucose tolerance test say about my blood sugar metabolism?
In the oral glucose tolerance test, you drink a sugar-water mixture, which consists of 75 mg glucose, which is significantly sweeter than soft drinks such as cola. You measure your blood sugar once before taking the drink and then every half hour after drinking. The last measurement takes place after two hours. The purpose of this, admittedly, somewhat complex test is to early detection of insulin resistance and thus impaired glucose toleranceUsually, an OGTT is always performed during pregnancy in order to detect the onset of gestational diabetes as early as possible.The standard values for this test are defined in the National Care Guideline for Type 2 Diabetics as follows:
| No diabetes (normal glucose tolerance) | Increased risk of diabetes | diabetes mellitus | ||
| Abnormal fasting glucose | Impaired glucose tolerance | |||
| fasting plasma glucose | < 100 mg/dl (< 5.6 mmol/l) | 100-125 mg/dl (5.6 – 6.9 mmol/l) | < 126 mg/dl (< 7.0 mmol/l) | from 126 mg/dl (from 7.0 mmol/l) |
| 2 hours after oral glucose | < 140 mg/dl (< 7.8 mmol/l) | – | 140 – 199 mg/dl (7.8 – 11.0 mmol/l) | from 200 mg/dl (from 11.1 mmol/l) |
Why is blood sugar important for your longevity?
We looked at how we measure the different blood sugar levels, how to diagnose diabetes mellitus and what insulin resistance is. But why is this so important for a long, healthy life?
Diabetes is a disease that does not cause any symptoms for a long time. We do not necessarily notice when our blood sugar is too high. However, we quickly notice the opposite - namely hypoglycemia. We break out in cold sweats, get cravings and can no longer concentrate.
According to data from the Robert Koch Institute, around 4.6 million (7.2%) of all Germans between the ages of 18 and 79 have been diagnosed with diabetes, and the trend is increasing. This means that almost one in ten people is “diabetic”The number of insulin-resistant people is significantly higher, but can only be estimated. Experts suspect that the number of unreported cases is extremely high.
Injecting insulin is typical and necessary for type 1 diabetics. Type 2 diabetics only need insulin in the final stages of the disease.
High blood sugar levels and the risk of arteriosclerosis – a deadly combination
Too high sugar levels attack the blood vessels in our body. As a result, diabetes contributes significantly to the number one cause of death in the western world: cardiovascular disease. Our blood lipids make a contribution when they become unbalanced.
The number of deaths caused by diabetes is difficult to estimate. In the USA alone, according to this report more than 100,000 deaths per year. Probably even more when you consider the role that high blood sugar levels play in the development of cardiovascular diseases.
Although the death rate from cardiovascular diseases is significantly higher, it is not without reason that Dr. Peter Attia Insulin resistance as the basis on which other life-shortening diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular diseases can ariseFrom his point of view, it is important to act as early as possible against insulin resistance to proceed.
The studies show that berberine, a naturally occurring dye extracted from the bark of the barberry plant, regulates several signaling pathways and longevity pathways, including AMPK, NF-κB, sirtuins and some others, has an effect on the body. Among other things, on our sugar metabolism. berberine (as well as the trace elements chrome and zinc) have in several scientific studies can have a positive effect on blood sugar levels (especially insulin sensitivity)All three substances in combination are used in Berberine Mineral Complex from MoleQlar before.
Blood sugar levels – why don’t we measure insulin?
As we have already seen, insulin resistance plays an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Wouldn't it then be easier to measure insulin directly?
In principle, this is not a bad idea, but Insulin does not stay in our bloodstream for very long and this makes accurate measurement difficult. Much better suited for this is the C-peptideThis is created during the production of insulin. In the pancreas, C-peptide and insulin are still connected. In order for insulin to work, the C-peptide must now be split off.
Doctors measure C-peptide to get clues about the type of diabetes. Type 1 diabetics produce little to no insulin, so to put it simply, their C-peptide levels are also low. Type 2 diabetics are insulin resistant. Here the pancreas even produces more insulin, which is also reflected in a high C-peptide level.
