A1C

[Tammypmpb]

Any tips on how I can lower my A1C? I've tried everything and I'm stuck at 8 when I want to be a 7.5...

[LZeeW]

Hello @Tammypmpb and welcome to the Community.  I moved your post to the Healthy Eating forum, one of the Health & Wellness forums.  I think it is a better fit for your question.  I'm sorry, but I can't help you.  There is a chance that you will get more help here.

[MCMM]

Go for a walk right after you eat. 

Watch the carbs you are putting in your body.  There are sugars in carbs. If you are eating carbs make sure you are eating protein. 

Are you diabetic?  Do you wear an insulin pump? Continuous Glucose Monitor? 

[keyy]

Yes, depends on your health circumstances, challenges etc. A1C is relative to your insulin resistance - generally the higher your visceral fat, the higher your insulin resistance and less efficient your glucose metabolism.  Diet is key since 'you can't outrun a bad diet' and the meds simply suppress glucose production or cause your body to discharge them - more of a bandage solution vs. fixing the underlying issue.  The more ideal A1C is actually 5 but below 5.7 or thereabout  is deemed 'non-diabetic'.   Take a look at Dr. Roy Taylor who has various videos that talk about 'personal fat threshold' in regards to 'visceral fat' and how to reduce it as needed to improve insulin resistance.  Otherwise, ideally get your diet reviewed by a nutritionist who specializes in bringing down A1C naturally.  The basic principle is to get off processed foods since they lack the fiber, vitamin and minerals of whole foods and meals made from whole food ingredients.  That's #1, assuming you want to optimize your nutrition and overall health.  That in conjunction with the proper exercise for your level of health  vs. risk factors is the other 1/2 of the equation.  Likewise, reduces stress - minimize caffeine and definitely stay away from sugars and non-essential oils and fried foods etc.  Again, a properly qualified nutritionist can help guide you - as long as they follow a more sensible approach that embraces the key points mentioned.  There's more extreme diets, LCHF/HCLF but those are generally only needed in special circumstances and require proper understanding to avoid compromises to one's health.  The other consideration is eating less, say, changing your dinner from a regular meal to salad with a bit of protein etc. - no dressing other than lemon juice or something basic - oil must be kept to a minimum necessary, preferably EVOO and omega 3.  Lastly, add more fiber to your diet, as long as you don't suffer IBS or some such then it's the best way to help reduce the overall calories you take in while helping improve your gut health.  Otherwise, you have to educate yourself as to how best to pick and choose the foods you eat, as part of a balanced diet, while avoiding antinutrients (alkaloids/nightshades/lectins etc.) which are more of an issue for some than others - basically to minimize inflammation, as should any diet.

[Rileysowner]

When my blood test show a 6.3 A1C I went Keto. It was down to 5.2 in matter of months. Cut your carbs a lot. 

[keyy]

Actually, Biochemist called 'Glucose Goddess' (youtube) looks to have a has a pretty good approach via her 10 hacks.  Seems sensible - though again where you have to cut out the processed foods and ones that trigger your glucose spikes - that latter point being the key, whereby keeping your glucose spikes to a minimum (via whole foods etc.) will help reduce insulin to where the body (presumably) will be able to work with it better.  Likely depends where you are in the spectrum of 'insulin resistance' - something she covers as well.  Otherwise, lots of good info about associated risks and behaviors, namely about foods and when you consume what etc.  e.g. Things like coffee - best consumed after breakfast, resulting in 50% less glucose spike.  That alone is worth checking out, along with the rest of what she has posted - again  - being a biochemist, not a 3rd party 'biohacker' or 'fitness personality' - though nothing wrong with them but sometimes best to go to the source vs. someone who gives you their impression from a qualitative perspective - basically 'fuzzy science' vs. the real deal.

[DebT]

Hi,  I am pre diabetic and trying to avoid medications. Has anyone tried the 800 calorie diet?  I have read some good things but, not sure which experts to believe. I’m mostly vegan now which has helped but I’m still at 6.4 A1C.  Thoughts?  

Thanks, Debbie. 

[Rileysowner]

I went the opposite route to vegan with Keto, and my A1C went down from 6.3
to 5.2 in a matter of months. 800 calories is not enough even for a small
dog. Generally, the guidelines for adult women is a minimum of 1200
calories a day and for men 1500 to get sufficient nutrition in a day.

[keyy]

As per Dr. Roy Taylor, being 'prediabetic' implies you have 'Insulin Resistance', typically where 'visceral/ectopic' fat have invaded other parts of the body that exceed your ability to create fat cells to store them.  The key is to reduce and get rid of the excess visceral fat that otherwise triggers Insulin Resistance - e.g. where it invades the Islets that produce insulin, disrupting their ability to function, if not go into hibernation.

The reduced caloric diet was developed by Dr. Roy Taylor's team, with the intention to reduce visceral fat and overall body weight which helps improve insulin resistance and even put T2D into remission.  His 'Newcastle Diet' uses those all in one nutrition drinks - like 'Ensure', where you add complementary fiber via salad etc. to enhance it - namely where the fiber acts as a sponge to absorb and help slow the uptake of the refined 'nutrients'. 

Far better to DIY with your own healthy 'whole-food' based meals which provide the essential macronutrients in their native context vs. where 'processed foods' are blamed for the epidemic of metabolic syndrome and diseases that stem from it (Dr. Robert Lustig - 'Metabolical').  However, you don't want to do that calorie restricted for too long, where you will lose lean muscle mass.  Otherwise, where you wouldn't do that diet while engaging a more stressful exercise - like weight training etc.   

Going down the rabbit hole...There's even more restrictive diets by Dr. Valter Longo and Dr. Alejandro Junger, the first being a longevity specialist and the second being a (former?) cardiac doctor/surgeon.  The basic common sense approach is to consume just a couple of hundred calories a day less than you typically burn - as indicated by your Fitbit, but then where you have to 'know' just how many calories you are eating and divvy up the macronutrients according to what you need to optimize on.

Otherwise, you can compensate by eating more fiber which helps your microbiome, which (ideally) supports your intestinal health - as long as you're not overly sensitive to fiber, as some people might be via IBS.  The catch-22 is where fiber is also an 'antinutrient', due to that sponge-like effect, which may not release all the macronutrients being consumed (?).  However, like exercise, you can expect fiber alone to fix a bad diet so best to get off processed foods and optimize your nutrition according to your needs and deficiencies.