Dr. Robert C. Atkins developed the Atkins Diet in the 1970s as a weight-loss tool. The most recent version of the diet, published in "The New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great" is by three researchers in the low-carbohydrate field. It promotes this way of eating to improve blood glucose levels, diabetes and the metabolic syndrome. If you want to have a good result at your fasting blood glucose test, following the Atkins diet could help you prevent diabetes, or at least better control it. Always consult your doctor before adopting a new diet.
Fasting Blood Glucose Test
The fasting blood glucose test can help to diagnose diabetes or other conditions related to high blood glucose levels. A normal result corresponds to a fasting blood glucose level lower than 100 mg/dL, according to MedlinePlus. Your diagnosis will be diabetes if your blood glucose levels are at 126 mg/dL or higher after having fasted for eight hours. If your fasting blood sugar result falls between 100 and 125 mg/dL, it is not high enough to diagnose you with diabetes but not low enough to be in the normal range. The diagnosis will be "impaired fasting glucose," which is the same as prediabetes.
Atkins and Fasting Blood Glucose Test
A study published December 2008 in "Nutrition & Metabolism" looked into the effects of the induction phase of the Atkins diet. This phase keeps carbohydrates at less than 20 g a day. Study participants found that blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes showed significant improvements. Fasting blood glucose levels dropped by about 20 percent, from 178.1 mg/dL down to 158.2 mg/dL, in 24 weeks. This needs more study to determine if it offers similar benefits for people with type 1 diabetes, prediabetes or normal blood sugar levels.
Atkins and Other Health Parameters
In addition to improving the results of your fasting blood glucose test, the Atkins diet could benefit other health parameters measured by your doctor. Reducing your carbohydrate intake as advised by the Atkins program can reduce your A1C levels by 1.5 percent, as shown in the study published December 2008 in "Nutrition & Metabolism." Hemoglobin A1C is a measure that reflects an average of your blood glucose levels at all times throughout the day, both fasting and after eating, over the last three months. In addition, the same study showed that the Atkins diet could help you lose weight, decrease your waist circumference, reduce your triglycerides and increase your protective HDL cholesterol levels.
Going Atkins
If you want to follow the Atkins diet to improve your fasting blood glucose results, first consult your doctor for approval and recommendations for adjusting your medications accordingly. To adapt your meals to the Atkins diet, avoid all desserts, sugar, sweetened beverages, grains, legumes, starchy potatoes, fruits, milk and yogurt to keep your daily carb intake low. Base your meals on nonstarchy vegetables. These include leafy greens; bell peppers and cauliflower; 4 to 6 oz. of protein from poultry, meat, fish, seafood, eggs or cheese; and 1 to 2 tbsp. of fats from olive oil, butter, cream, mayonnaise or low-carb salad dressing.
References
- MedlinePlus; Glucose Test -- Blood; May 2010
- "Nutrition & Metabolism"; The Effect of a Low-Carbohydrate, Ketogenic Diet Versus a Low-Glycemic Index Diet on Glycemic Control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus; Eric C. Westman, et al.; December 2008
- "The New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great"; Eric C. Westman, Stephen D. Phinney and Jeff S. Volek; 2010
