About Blood Sugar Control
Poor blood sugar control is an insidious problem that commonly has no obvious signs or symptoms for many years – sometimes decades — before it is detected. By the time a patient is diagnosed, much damage has already been done, laying the foundation for more serious problems and complications. The tragedy in this is that blood sugar dysregulation is highly treatable by non-pharmacological methods when caught early.
MVL has been offering the Kraft Prediabetes Profile for nearly 40 years. This test evaluates the insulin response, something that is overlooked in all other diabetes testing. Insulin resistance is commonly assessed by measuring fasting insulin or Hemoglobin A1C. Unfortunately, a low fasting insulin doesn’t tell the most important part of the story. Insulin resistance can only be properly assessed by seeing how a patient’s insulin responds to a glucose challenge over a period of hours. Even Hemoglobin A1C can be normal if very high levels of insulin are keeping blood sugar levels down.
It is estimated that that up to 30 million Americans have diabetes with 1.5 million new cases diagnosed every year. More staggering, an estimated 84 million Americans have pre-diabetes, and this is probably an underestimate. Given these statistics, an argument can be made for screening most people with tests designed for early detection, especially as these conditions are most successfully treated when detected early. Those patients most at risk include those who are:
- Overweight or obese
- Physically inactive or sedentary
- Older than 45 years of age
- Of African American, Native Alaskan, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander heritage
- Have a waist-to-hip ratio of >0.9 for men or >0.85 for women
- Have a waist circumference of 40” for men or 35” for women
- Have a family history of insulin resistance, Type II Diabetes, osteoarthritis, or cardiovascular disease
- Have a person history of PCOS, depression, or joint problems
- Have high blood pressure
- Have an elevated HgA1C, elevated fasting glucose, or elevated 2-hour post-prandial glucose
Meridian Valley Lab has long been a leader in providing more accurate measures for early detection of insulin resistance and increased diabetes risk. Meridian Valley Lab has decades of experience in interpreting insulin response curves and classifying them by pattern, according to the research. MVL is the only lab currently measuring the ratio of Xanturenic acid to Kynurenic acid as an early assessment of insulin resistance. We are dedicated to providing the most accurate and informative data for patient diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring.
