Health Metric for Longevity
Sep 30, 2021Hi. I’m Andy, co-founders of Foco Academy, functional health and wellness coaches. As the world starts to wake up to the new normal, a lot has changed so we are also tweaking the focus of our messaging on how to get ahead in this new environmental, this new world. We are still focusing on time, health, and relationships and we are still utilizing the same set of success principles.
It has been over 18 months since the beginning of the pandemic. Do you wonder what are the signs that tells us whether a person is at a greater risk of injury or death? And what type of people barely knew they caught a virus?
Whether you are vaccinated or not, you should know that taking the vaccinations does not prevent you from catching the virus nor does it prevent you from passing the virus to others.
What are the signs that tells us whether the vaccination would lower their chance of mortality or not?
The signs are actually posted in CDC as a health metric. And if you have this a problem with this particular health metric, it doesn’t matter whether you took the shot or not, you are at a higher risk or injury and death if you catch any deadly virus.
Interestingly, even though it is posted on the CDC site, we don’t hear anybody from CDC or WHO or some other official talk about it in the news. Even more surprisingly, most doctors don’t even talk about this particular metric.
This particular health metric, the root of all health perils, causes more problems than just catching the virus. It also impairs your ability to fight off other infections and puts you at higher risk of injury and mortality in many other types of illnesses.
This metric is easy to measure. I check mine several times a day. I can do this at home and so can you. It is one of the most important health metrics that you should measure daily or at least weekly. It can give you a good idea about how long you will live and what quality of life you will get.
This metric, is Blood Sugar.
First let’s talk about metabolic efficiency.
If your body is metabolically efficient, your body is capable of converting sugar into energy and also it can convert fats into energy.
However, if your body is overloaded with sugars from processed foods and take out meals, your body accumulates too much sugar for you to process, and so, your body will, instead, store the sugar as fat in your body, which can cause chronic inflammation in your body.
And chronic inflammation is bad. When I talk about the root of all evil, it is really chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is the first step in all chronic underlying conditions.
So what exactly is blood sugar?
Well, literally, blood sugar is the level of sugar stored in your blood at any one time. Your blood sugar level fluctuates throughout the day depending on how well your body processes sugar and how much sugar you eat. Blood sugar level will also change according to the how much exercise you do, how well you sleep, and also your stress level.
Let me ask you this, do you know what your current blood sugar level is? Most people don’t. At least not on a daily basis. So you may have chronic high blood sugar levels without knowing it.
There are 2 ways to test your blood sugar levels;
- Fasting glucose blood test
- HbA1C test.
Fasting Glucose is when you fast, not eat for 12 hrs before you take the blood test. It represents your blood sugar level at that moment in time.
The HbA1C test measures the glycated hemoglobin, which is a specific form of protein that carries oxygen throughout the body.
A glycated hemoglobin is formed when hemoglobin is exposed to glucose in the blood, whenever the body is processing sugar either for energy or storing it as fat.
The HbA1C measures the average blood sugar levels over a period of about 3 months. So it is almost like an average of your blood sugar levels over the last three months.
The fasting blood sugar and the HbA1C test, each tells us a different story, and you really need both to gauge how stable your blood sugar levels are.
And if you only get these tested once a year, then you are only able to know how healthy you are 3 months out of the year.
The good news is that you can test your fasting glucose at home, as often as you want. Fasting glucose tells you body well your body is processing sugar at that moment. This is how you can tell if your body is metabolically healthy or not.
So why is blood sugar so important?
Chronic high blood sugars can cause serious health problems because it affects your arteries, your heart, brain, kidney, nerves and eyes.
If left unchecked, chronic high blood sugar can cause type 2 diabetes that can then lead to heart attacks, kidney failure, blindness and loss of limbs.
So what is consider a healthy fasting glucose and HbA1C number?
Well, that depends on who you ask. Medically speaking, that is, if you ask your medical doctor, they will probably tell you that you should have a fasting blood glucose below 125mg/dl , but preferably around 108 or so. That’s the medical guideline.
For your HbA1C number they will tell you that you should have a number below 5.7%.
From your doctor’s perspective, they are only concerned when your fasting glucose is over 125mg/dl or your HbA1C number is over 5.7% consistently. Because once you get past that level, they are instructed to give you a prescription.
But, as a functional nutrition and longevity specialist, our goal is not only to help you stay away from medication. We really strive for optimal health.
For fasting glucose we try to stay within 75-85mg/dl and a HbA1C number of 4.3-4.6%.
When your blood sugars are this optimal range, your body is metabolically efficient and it is capable of burning both sugar and fat and turn them into energy that you need.
Your body, by nature, is built as a hybrid engine that can burn both types of fuel, meaning, sugar and fats.
Normally your body will first burn sugar you have in your blood and turn that into energy.
But if you have too much blood sugar that is not consumed as energy, some of that will be stored as glycogen, which is a form of energy reserve and the remaining is stored as fat.
When your body is metabolically efficient, it can tap into this fat reserve and burn that for energy as ketones when it uses up all sugar and glycogen reserves.
However the body can only do that when your blood sugar is at optimal levels.
If the blood sugar levels are too high, your body loses the ability to burn fat, and end up only burning some of the sugar. The rest will be stored as fat. Fat accumulates inside your body and your body loses the ability to burn it off causing inflammation.
It doesn’t matter how much exercise you do, you may gain more muscle, but you will never burn off the fat as your body does not have the ability to do so when your blood sugar is high. That’s why you may see some overweight people working out 7 days a week and yet not really lose any weight or fat.
So my recommendation for you is to get your blood sugar into optimal levels and you will feel your fat melt off your body.
The best way to measure your fasting blood sugar is to use a meter.
We use the Keto Mojo meters which can measure both your blood sugar and ketones, which is your ability to burn fat. All it takes is a small prick of your finger.
The highest death rates every year are related to diabetes, heart problems and kidney problems. Coincidentally, in 2020,. The death rates are also related to people with the same problems.
Do you know what your current blood sugar level is? This is the one metric that is an important indicator that tells you your longevity and quality of life!
Get a Keto Mojo now to see where you health stands and take back control of your life.
Until Next time Love What you Live and Live what you love
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We are not medical doctors. This blog is not intended to diagnose medical condition, or replace your health care provider. The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only. Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult your personal physician before starting any fitness or exercise program or changing dietary habits. The content of this site is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. It is not a substitute for a medical exam, nor does it replace the need for services or counsel provided by medical professionals. However, we do hope to inspire you to become healthier, more self sufficient, and more aware of options.
