This article presents studies showing that the blood sugar level one hour after eating (post-prandial blood sugar) is highly predictive of many common diseases.
At least here in the US, blood sugar levels at home can be easily checked with an inexpensive glucometer that can be bought without needing a prescription.
I heard that a continuous glucometer could be bought over the counter in Canada.
For the past few weeks, I have been writing topics on how to lower the two-hour blood sugar after a meal. That’s because a two-hour post-prandial blood sugar of more than 140 mg/dL or 7.8 mmol/L can lead to atherosclerosis development and a future heart attack or stroke.
I wrote about that topic in After-meal high blood sugar predicts Atherosclerosis better than Fasting blood sugar and HbA1c.
Note: To convert glucose levels from mg/dL to mmol/L, click on this LINK.
One-Hour Post-Prandial Blood Sugar
Well, there is something better than a two-hour test: a blood sugar test one hour after eating. The target value for the one hour should be less than 154.8 mg/dL or 8.6 mmol/L.
According to the studies by Jagannathan et al., Alyass et al., Bergman et al., and Peddinti et al., a blood sugar of more than 154.8 mg/dL or 8.6 mmol/L is highly predictive of the development of a future type 2 or adult-onset diabetes.
Peddinti and colleagues compared the two-hour and one-hour on 543 subjects they followed for ten years and found that the one-hour post-prandial blood sugar outperformed the two-hour blood sugar test in predicting who will develop type 2 diabetes.[1]
The One-Hour Post-Prandial Blood Sugar Can Lead to Several Common Diseases
Other studies have shown that the one-hour post-prandial blood sugar also predicts the following:
- Chronic kidney disease [5]
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver [6]
- Hardening of the arteries or increased vascular stiffness causing hypertension.[7]
- Early carotid atherosclerosis can eventually present as a brain stroke.[8]
- Decreased insulin clearance leads to higher insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia), weight gain, and obesity.[9]
- Dysfunction of the beta cells in the pancreas that produces insulin leads to insulin resistance, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes.[10]
- Chronic subclinical inflammation is commonly seen in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.[11]
- Increased blood viscosity with a greater tendency to develop blood clots. [12]
- Cardiovascular diseases and higher all-cause mortality. [13]
Preventable cardiovascular diseases include:
- Coronary artery disease
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Peripheral artery diseases in the legs, kidneys, and intestines
- Irregular heart rhythms or arrythmias
- Diseases of the aorta, like aortic aneurysms and aortic dissection
How to Lower Post-Prandial Blood Sugar
Previously, I have written articles on how to lower the two-hour post-prandial or after-meal blood sugar. They are the following:
- The Blood Sugar Lowering and Metabolic Effects of Vinegar
- Ways to Lower After-Meal Blood Sugar when Eating White Bread
- A High-Protein Breakfast Can Lower Blood Sugar the Whole Day
- Eating rather than skipping breakfast results in lower blood sugars the whole day
- Pistachios improve insulin resistance and inflammatory markers
- Pistachios decrease after-meal blood sugar
- Blood Glucose Spike and its Prevention
- Veggies Meat Carbohydrate Sequence Prevents After Meal Sugar Spike
- A Healthy Lifestyle is as effective as Voglibose and Nateglinide in Lowering 10-year Cardiac Mortality
- Intermittent fasting Reverses Endothelial Dysfunction
- Walk After Meals to Prevent Sky High Blood Sugars
Anecdote
After reading about the one-hour blood sugar test, I checked my blood sugar one hour after eating lunch. It was 147mg/dL. That’s lower than 154.8 mg/dL, which is good.
So while a one-hour blood sugar of less than 154 mg/dL sounds challenging, it is doable. Here is what I did today to make it happen.
- Following the circadian rhythm, morning exercise makes the skeletal muscles absorb glucose. I did some calisthenics this morning that included elevated (legs) push-ups (30), lunges x 20, and straight leg raising while hanging in a pull-up bar (x 5). I will write an article about that in the future.
- High protein breakfast with two eggs, ground beef with soy protein, and chickpeas. — A High-Protein Breakfast Can Lower Blood Sugar the Whole Day
- I always have some vegetables at the beginning of any meal — Veggies, Meat Carbohydrate Sequence Prevents After Meal Sugar Spike.
- For lunch, I had veggies, chicken, and sweet potatoes. After that, I walked for 20 minutes on a treadmill. — Walk After Meals to Prevent Sky High Blood Sugars
Conclusion
In summary, this article showed a blood sugar level of less than 154.8 mg/dL or 8.6 mmol/L can prevent the development of type 2 diabetes and heart disease and potentially prolong life.
If someone already has diabetes, reading the articles and following this blog can lower the dose or even cut down on diabetes medications.
A glucometer with 100 test strips and 100 lancets and a lancing device can be bought for less than $26 on Amazon. You better get it quick. The price of the last product I mentioned went up by 50%.
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References:
- Peddinti G, Bergman M, Tuomi T, Groop L. 1-Hour Post-OGTT Glucose Improves the Early Prediction of Type 2 Diabetes by Clinical and Metabolic Markers. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2019 Apr 1;104(4):1131-1140. doi: 10.1210/jc.2018-01828. PMID: 30445509; PMCID: PMC6382453.
- Alyass A, Almgren P, Akerlund M, Dushoff J, Isomaa B, Nilsson P, Tuomi T, Lyssenko V, Groop L, Meyre D. Modelling of OGTT curve identifies one h plasma glucose level as a strong predictor of incident type 2 diabetes: results from two prospective cohorts. Diabetologia. 2015;58(1):87–97.
- Jagannathan R, Sevick MA, Fink D, Dankner R, Chetrit A, Roth J, Buysschaert M, Bergman M. The 1-hour post-load glucose level is more effective than HbA1c for screening dysglycemia. Acta Diabetol. 2016;53(4):543–550.
- Bergman M, Chetrit A, Roth J, Jagannathan R, Sevick M, Dankner R. One-hour post-load plasma glucose level during the OGTT predicts dysglycemia: observations from the 24-year follow-up of the Israel Study of Glucose Intolerance, Obesity, and Hypertension. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2016;120:221–228.
- Succurro E, Arturi F, Lugarà M, Grembiale A, Fiorentino TV, Caruso V, Andreozzi F, Sciacqua A, Hribal ML, Perticone F, Sesti G. One-hour post-load plasma glucose levels are associated with kidney dysfunction. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2010;5(11):1922–1927.
- Sesti G, Hribal ML, Fiorentino TV, Sciacqua A, Perticone F. Elevated one h post-load plasma glucose levels identify adults with normal glucose tolerance but increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2014;2(1):e000016.
- Sciacqua A, Maio R, Miceli S, Pascale A, Carullo G, Grillo N, Arturi F, Sesti G, Perticone F. Association between one-hour post-load plasma glucose levels and vascular stiffness in essential hypertension. PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44470.
- Succurro E, Marini MA, Arturi F, Grembiale A, Lugarà M, Andreozzi F, Sciacqua A, Lauro R, Hribal ML, Perticone F, Sesti G. Elevated one-hour post-load plasma glucose levels identify subjects with normal glucose tolerance but early carotid atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis. 2009;207(1):245–249.
- Marini MA, Frontoni S, Succurro E, Arturi F, Fiorentino TV, Sciacqua A, Hribal ML, Perticone F, Sesti G. Decreased insulin clearance in individuals with elevated 1-h post-load plasma glucose levels. PLoS One. 2013;8(10):e77440.
- Marini MA, Succurro E, Frontoni S, Mastroianni S, Arturi F, Sciacqua A, Lauro R, Hribal ML, Perticone F, Sesti G. Insulin sensitivity, β-cell function, and incretin effect in individuals with elevated 1-hour post-load plasma glucose levels. Diabetes Care. 2012;35(4):868–872.
- Sesti G, Fiorentino TV, Succurro E, Perticone M, Arturi F, Sciacqua A, Perticone F. Elevated 1-h post-load plasma glucose levels in subjects with normal glucose tolerance are associated with unfavorable inflammatory profile. Acta Diabetol. 2014;51(6):927–932.
- Marini MA, Fiorentino TV, Andreozzi F, Mannino GC, Perticone M, Sciacqua A, Perticone F, Sesti G. Elevated 1-h post-challenge plasma glucose levels in subjects with normal glucose tolerance or impaired glucose tolerance are associated with whole blood viscosity. Acta Diabetol. 2017;54(8):775–784.
- Hulman A, Vistisen D, Glümer C, Bergman M, Witte DR, Færch K. Glucose patterns during an oral glucose tolerance test and associations with future diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality rate. Diabetologia. 2018;61(1):101–107.
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