HbA1c: What Can Your Blood Sugar Tell You?

Blood sugar is something many of us associate with diabetes.

But understanding how your body manages glucose can be useful long before you have any reason to think something might be wrong.

One of the ways we can look at this is through HbA1c.

It sounds quite clinical, but the principle behind it is actually fairly simple.

What is HbA1c?

Glucose is a type of sugar in your blood and an important source of energy for your body.

As glucose travels around your bloodstream, some naturally attaches to haemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.

HbA1c measures how much glucose has attached to that haemoglobin.

Because red blood cells live for around three months, your HbA1c result can give an indication of your average blood glucose levels over the previous two to three months.

Think of it as a longer-term picture rather than a snapshot of one particular moment.

How is HbA1c different from a finger-prick glucose test?

A standard blood glucose test tells you what your blood glucose level is at that particular time.

It can be affected by when you last ate, what you ate, activity and other factors.

HbA1c looks at a much longer period.

That means the sandwich you had for lunch yesterday or the slice of cake you enjoyed at the weekend isn’t going to determine your HbA1c result.

It is looking at the bigger picture.

Why is HbA1c useful?

HbA1c is commonly used to help diagnose and monitor prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

For someone without a previous diagnosis, a raised result may indicate that blood glucose has been running higher than expected and that further assessment is appropriate.

But this is important:

A result is information, not a judgement.

If a result needs following up, knowing about it gives you an opportunity to have the right conversations and get the appropriate support.

Can you have raised blood glucose without knowing?

Yes.

Changes in blood glucose don’t necessarily make you feel unwell, particularly in the earlier stages.

Some people may experience symptoms such as feeling very thirsty, needing to urinate more often, tiredness or unexplained weight loss, but others may notice very little.

That is one reason health checks can be valuable.

Sometimes we find out something useful before our body has given us an obvious reason to look.

What can affect blood glucose?

How our bodies manage glucose is influenced by many different factors.

These can include genetics and family history, age, nourishment, physical activity, body composition, sleep, stress, hormones, certain health conditions and some medications.

As with all our health numbers, there is rarely value in looking at HbA1c without considering the person behind it.

What does insulin have to do with it?

When glucose enters your bloodstream, your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin.

Insulin helps glucose move from the blood into your cells, where it can be used for energy.

Sometimes the body’s cells become less responsive to insulin. The body may initially compensate by producing more of it, but over time blood glucose levels can begin to rise.

This is often referred to as insulin resistance.

Movement, nourishment, sleep, stress, genetics and body composition can all play a part in how effectively this system works.

Can lifestyle make a difference?

For many people, yes.

And once again, this doesn’t have to mean changing everything at once.

Regular movement can help the body use glucose more effectively. Walking after meals, building more movement into your day and including some resistance or strength exercise can all be useful.

Nourishment matters too.

Rather than simply thinking about cutting out sugar, it can be more helpful to look at the overall pattern of what you eat.

Fibre, vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, pulses, protein and healthy fats can all form part of a balanced way of eating.

Sleep and stress matter as well.

Our bodies don’t operate in separate compartments. What affects one part of our wellbeing can influence another.

Your HbA1c is one piece of the picture

An HbA1c result becomes even more useful when considered alongside other information about your health.

Blood pressure, cholesterol, family history, movement, nourishment, sleep and how you’re feeling all help build a fuller picture.

Read: Know Your Numbers, Understand Your Normal

It’s about knowing, not judging

Blood glucose can feel like an emotive subject.

Words such as diabetes, weight and sugar can quickly make health conversations feel uncomfortable or judgemental.

That’s not how we approach it at KnowU.

Your HbA1c result isn’t a score for how well you’ve behaved.

It’s simply another piece of information about what is happening inside your body.

From there, we can decide whether there’s anything worth exploring further.

HbA1c testing with KnowU

HbA1c testing is available as part of selected KnowU health and lifestyle check-ins.

Your result is discussed with you in the context of your wider health and lifestyle, rather than simply handing you a number and sending you on your way.

Where a result indicates that further assessment is appropriate, we’ll explain that clearly and signpost you to the right healthcare support.

Where there are lifestyle areas you’d like to work on, we can explore practical changes that fit around your life, rather than expecting your life to fit around a health plan.

No judgement. No lecture.

Just useful information and a supportive conversation about what’s going on for you.

Because your wellbeing starts with knowing you.

Know your numbers. Understand your normal.