Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)

Blood Sugar Test

$39.95

Blood Sugar Test

$39.95

The HbA1c Test measures the amount of sugar (glucose) in your blood. When glucose builds up in the blood, it binds to a protein called hemoglobin. Testing your hemoglobin A1c level is a great way to gain insight into your body’s ability to metabolize glucose. View sample report >

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Do you know your number?

The Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) test measures the percentage of A1c hemoglobin proteins that have glucose attached. The higher your blood glucose is on average, the more glucose there is attached to the hemoglobin A1c protein.

Your HbA1c level correlates to and reflects your average blood glucose over the past 3 months. A healthy HbA1c is below 5.7% and above 5.7% indicates chronic elevated glucose and warrants a discussion with a healthcare provider.

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Where Does Blood Sugar Come From?
The main source of sugar in your blood comes directly from the foods you eat. Some examples of these types of foods include rice, potatoes, pasta and bread, as well as sugary foods such as cookies, cakes, and pastries. When glucose enters the bloodstream after you eat carbohydrates, it goes through the pancreas.

The pancreas secretes insulin when you consume carbohydrates and sends excess glucose to the liver as glycogen. The pancreases also produces glucagon, which actually raises blood sugar when necessary. You need both glycogen and glucagon to keep blood sugar levels balanced.

What Happens When Blood Sugar Levels are High?
Glucose is the primary sugar found in your blood. It is also your body’s main source of energy. However, when there is too much in your blood over a period of time it can damage blood vessels, tissues and organs and potentially lead to serious health issues like diabetes, heart disease and cognitive disorders, as well as vision and nerve problems.

Some signs of high blood sugar include frequent urination, increased hunger and thirst, fatigue, blurred vision, tingling or numbness in the hands or feet, and unexplained weight loss.

What Happens When Blood Sugar Levels are Low?
Low blood sugar is also called hypoglycemia and it often happens to diabetics who have taken too much insulin, causing their blood sugar level to drop. This typically requires quick treatment with sugary drinks like orange juice or honey or candy. In severe cases, someone will require a shot of glucagon to bring the level back up.

Some of the signs of low blood sugar are an irregular or fast heartbeat, fatigue, sweating, irritability, and tingling or numbness on the lips, tongue and cheeks. In severe cases, hypoglycemia can also cause confusion, loss of consciousness, seizures and blurred vision.

Why Test Your HbA1c?
Balancing blood sugar levels in the body is a delicate task. Periodically making sure your blood sugar is within normal range can help stave off more serious health issues down the road such as diabetes, heart disease, cognitive issues, and kidney problems.
There are many factors that can affect blood glucose levels, primarily diet and lifestyle, but also medical conditions and medications. It is important to be aware if you have certain medical conditions such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, thyroid conditions, iron deficiency, chronic liver disease, or sleep disorders that may affect your body’s ability to metabolize glucose.

Further, some medications and supplements may affect glucose levels such as antiretrovirals, sulfa antibiotics, high doses of certain vitamins, aspirin, or chronic opioid use. It is important to discuss your medications and medical history along with your test results with a healthcare provider.

Other Blood Sugar Tests
The HbA1c test represents your blood sugar level over a period of 2-3 months. However, there are other tests that measure blood sugar at a single point in time, such as the glucose tolerance test, fasting blood sugar test and random blood sugar test.

Some examples of situations in which these tests are used:

  • Diabetics checking their sugar level before/after a meal
  • A pregnant woman at risk for gestational diabetes
  • A person who is experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)/hyperglycemia (high blood sugar)
5 Tips for Managing Blood Sugar
For most people, blood sugar can be managed with diet and lifestyle modifications, as well as medications. However, Type I diabetics are excluded from this category as there is no cure and they will require lifetime management of their blood sugar levels with insulin.

People with mild blood sugar issues, as well as prediabetics and Type 2 diabetics can manage their blood sugar by following a few key steps:

1 Limit intake of processed foods
Limit intake of processed foods:
These are typically high in calories, very tasty, and subject to overconsumption. Reducing or eliminating these types of foods will remove added sugar from your diet and in turn will help your body normalize blood sugar levels.
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2 Eat balanced meals/snacks:
Eat balanced meals/snacks:
Try to always include protein and healthy fats along with complex carbohydrates (which are
higher in fiber) to reduce blood sugar spikes, improve satiety, and increase digestion time.
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3 Exercise more:
Exercise more:
Physical activity is important for overall health and is especially effective and improving the
effectiveness of insulin and reducing blood sugar long-term.
3
Reduce stress:
4 Reduce stress:
Stress causes your body to release the hormone cortisol, whose main function is to increase glucose output from your liver. Over time, this can lead to elevated blood sugar.
4
5 Get enough sleep:
Get enough sleep:
People who consistently get less than 7 hours are more likely to have elevated Hba1c along with people who get poor quality sleep. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
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Optimize Your HbA1C Level in 3 Easy Steps

1. Measure
Testing your hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level is a great way to gain insight into your body’s ability to metabolize glucose.
2. Modify
Knowing your HbA1c level will enable you to modify your diet and supplements/medication.
3. Monitor
Monitoring changes over time is important in assessing the effectiveness of any diet and
lifestyle changes.

Research shows HbA1C affects health

HbA1c and Risk for All-Cause Mortality

Translating the A1C Assay Into Estimated Average Glucose Values

The Relationship Between HbA1c Status and Brain Health

Stress, Inflammation and Glucose Regulation

How It Works
Order: Choose the test service you would like. The sample collection kit typically arrives in 3 to 5 days.
Collect Sample: Follow the simple kit instructions to collect your sample from the comfort of home. Once you collect your sample, mail it back to our lab using the pre-paid envelope.
Get Results: In 2-4 weeks you will receive an email letting you know your personalized results are ready.
How It Works
Order: Choose the test service you would like. The sample collection kit typically arrives in 3 to 5 days.
Collect Sample: Follow the simple kit instructions to collect your sample from the comfort of home. Once you collect your sample, mail it back to our lab using the pre-paid envelope.
Get Results: In 2-4 weeks you will receive an email letting you know your personalized results are ready.
Your results.
Supported by science.
  • Actionable:
    Blood sugar levels start changing as soon as you change your diet and lifestyle.
  • Personalized:
    Personalized recommendations based off your test results.
  • Certified:
    Samples are processed in our CLIA certified laboratory.
  • Validated:
    Sample analysis traceable to NIST.
  • Compare:
    Reference ranges show you how you compare to your peers.
HbA1c Blood Sugar Test Videos
FAQ
What is HbA1c?
HbA1c stands for Hemoglobin A1c, which is a specific type of protein that glucose becomes attached to. Glucose is a simple sugar that is absorbed into the bloodstream when your body breaks down carbohydrate foods. When glucose is absorbed, some of it becomes attached to the hemoglobin A1c protein and, over time, the more glucose that is circulating in the blood stream, the more glucose becomes attached to the hemoglobin A1c protein. HbA1c is expressed as a percentage because it is the percent of hemoglobin A1c protein that has glucose attached, so if your HbA1c is 5.5%, that means that 5.5% of the hemoglobin A1c proteins have glucose attached to them.
Where does blood sugar (glucose) come from?
The main source of sugar in your blood comes directly from the foods you eat. Some examples of these types of foods include rice, potatoes, pasta and bread, as well as sugary foods such as cookies, cakes, and pastries. When glucose enters the bloodstream after you eat carbohydrates, it goes through the pancreas. The pancreas secretes insulin when you consume carbohydrates and sends excess glucose to the liver as glycogen. The pancreases also produces glucagon, which actually raises blood sugar when necessary. You need both glycogen and glucagon to keep blood sugar levels balanced.
Still have questions?
Visit our FAQ section for more information and to learn more.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This test is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, prevent or mitigate any disease. This site does not offer medical advice, and nothing contained herein is intended to establish a doctor/patient relationship. OmegaQuant, LLC is regulated under the Clinical Laboratory improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) and is qualified to perform high complexity clinical testing. The performance characteristics of this test were determined by OmegaQuant, LLC. It has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

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