American Diabetes Association - Diabetes A to Z: What You Need to Know about Diabetes - Simply Put

Hemoglobin is a protein inside red blood cells. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to all the cells of the body.

Like other proteins, hemoglobin can join with sugars, such as glucose. When this happens, it becomes glycated hemoglobin, referred to as A1C or glycohemoglobin (or sometimes as HbA1c).

The more glucose there is in the blood, the more hemoglobin will join with it. Once joined, hemoglobin and glucose stay that way for the life of the red blood cellabout 4 months.

The A1C test measures the amount of glycohemoglobin in your red blood cells. The A1C test is usually done by a lab.

A sample of your blood is taken. The blood can be taken at any time of the day. It does not matter what food you last ate. It does not matter what your blood glucose level is at the time of the test.

What the A1C Test Can Do

Tell you about your average blood glucose level for the past 2 to 3 months. You can then see how your blood glucose control has been. An A1C < 7% is good for most people, while an A1C > 9% is considered very poor control. Some reports will now give the A1C value expressed as a percent together with an average blood glucose value in mg/dl. This is known as your estimated average glucose (eAG).

Allow you to compare the A1C test results with blood glucose checks you do yourself or tests your doctor has done. If the tests do not agree, you may need to change the way or the times you check your glucose levels at home.

Help you judge whether your diabetes care plan is working. If your glycohemoglobin indicates that your blood glucose level was high during the past 23 months, something in your plan may need to be changed.

Show you how a change in your plan has affected your diabetes. Perhaps you started to exercise more. An A1C test can confirm the good effects exercise has had on your blood glucose control.

Calculating your eAG

When to Get an A1C Test

An A1C test is typically used to diagnose diabetes. If your A1C is greater than or equal to 6% at the time of the test, you will be diagnosed with diabetes. After that, have the test done at least 24 times a year.

Why You Should Continue Self-Checks

The A1C test cant replace the checks you do each day to measure the level of glucose in your blood (see ). Self-checks help you decide how to treat diabetes at that moment. What you do to keep daily blood glucose levels in range will show up in your A1C test results.

Activity is good for everyone, especially people with diabetes. Activity helps your insulin (whether made by your pancreas or taken by injections) work better, which means you may need less insulin or fewer diabetes pills to control your diabetes. Moderate activity lowers your risk of heart disease and may have beneficial effects on blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It may also reduce your risk for colon cancer. It can reduce your body fat and help you lose weight.

Activity keeps your joints, muscles, and bones healthy and strong. It improves balance and agility and lowers your risk of falling. Activity can also increase your energy; relieve feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress; and improve your mood. In short, activity could help you have a longer, happier, healthier life.

So go ahead. Get up and move whenever you can. When you are active and moving, you use two to three times more energy than when you are inactive.

Be sure to check with your health-care provider before increasing your level of physical activity. If you have not been active lately, you may need to start with just 5 to 10 minutes of an activity and work up to longer or harder activity sessions.