Over 40? Get A Glucose Test!

Filed in archive Lifestyle on October 31, 2006

Perhaps you feel great...and I hope you are perfectly healthy! But doctors urge everyone over 40 to get a blood test to determine whether you have Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT), otherwise known as prediabetes. To stress the importance of this, approximately 54,000 Americans are thought to be unaware that they have the condition.

GT is an early sign that you may be at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It is the stage between having normal blood glucose levels and type 2 diabetes. And, a good percentage of people over 40 have IGT. (Note: People with IGT experience a greater rise in blood glucose level after eating carbohydrates while their fasting level is normal or moderately raised.)

Insulin resistance is a growing concern because more and more people are becoming obese and physically inactive - both these factors aggravate insulin resistance.

The risk of heart disease rises exponentially for people with insulin resistance, high blood sugar, high amounts of blood fats and low levels of good cholesterol. Add high blood pressure in that equation, and you have Syndrome X.

The test only takes a few minutes, and could save your life. Please take the time.