Blood Sugar Profile Test
What markers are tested?
The Blood Sugar Profile is able to examine and map out your HBA1C, fasting Insulin, Leptin, Anhydroglucitol, and fasting Glucose. This provides your practitioner with a ‘snap shot’ or your blood glucose fluctuations. Insulin for example is the enemy of weight loss, so careful evaluation of blood sugar fluctuations is essential when looking at weight problems.
Why do you need it?
Insulin:
Excessive thyroid hormone production causes an increased glucose production in the liver, rapid absorption of glucose through the intestines, and increased insulin resistance (a condition in which the body does not use insulin efficiently). The enemy of weight loss. We try to reduce the stimulation of insulin as much as possible, if weight is a concern.
Glucose:
High glucose levels can indicate insulin resistance and possible diabetes. Research indicates that non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) may contribute to pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. People with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism are also at a higher risk of NAFLD because of the effect of hypothyroidism on fat metabolism and liver function. Thyroid hormones are involved in the regulation of body weight, lipid metabolism, and insulin resistance, and so can also play a role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Leptin:
This hormone is produced by fat cells to regulate appetite in response to our current energy/fat stores. High leptin will result in an appetite decrease, whereas low leptin levels will lead to a voracious appetite. Leptin also has a role in managing calorie burning, inflammation, autoimmunity and sugar levels. When our leptin is consistently too high, our receptors stop ‘listening’ to this signal correctly, creating a state of consistent craving.
Why The Lucy Rose Clinic uses this test
Keeping a close watch on your Blood Sugar Profile is particularly important as your thyroid directly influences many aspects of how blood sugars are processed (or not processed).
How your levels of leptin, insulin and glucose fluctuate should reflect your diet and lifestyle, but when something else in your system isn’t responding how it should, often these levels become affected and this can compound weight and physical health problems.