function. The study’s lead author, Dr. Agnes Flöel,
examined 141 people with A1Cs that were within the range
of “normal.” She found that for every 0.6 percent increase
in a subject’s hemoglobin A1C (again, a measure of average
blood sugar over three months), two fewer words were
recalled on a verbal memory test. That these subjects were
nondiabetic, nor even prediabetic, is a startling finding.
What’s more, people with higher A1Cs also had less volume
in the hippocampus, which is the brain’s precious memory
processing center.^13 (Findings published in Neurology, the
official journal of the American Academy of Neurology,
also indicated that higher fasting blood sugar levels within
the range of “normal” were more likely to predict a loss of
volume in that brain region.)^14
DOCTOR’S NOTE: THE DRAWBACKS OF THE A1C
The A1C is not a perfect test, but it reaffirms how damaging
sugar can be. Research has shown that elevated blood sugar
actually shortens the life spans of blood cells, so while a
person with normal blood sugar may have blood cells that
live for four months, someone with chronically high blood
sugar may have blood cells that live for three or less.^15 The
more time spent in circulation, the more sugar a blood cell
may accumulate. A person with truly healthy blood sugar
might therefore have the “false positive” of an elevated
A1C, while a diabetic may in actuality have even higher
blood sugar than the A1C reveals.