God's Amazing Body and Science - Part 4

Blood Our Life Line

I realize it is not Sunday and no I have not lost my mind – just a whole bunch of time is all I have lost. But since I have been busy and missed the most precious day of my week – Sunday; I thought I would call today Sunday and continue with Sunday’s praise to God.

So please bear with me as I post on what I had on my mind on Sunday.

Before going on too far, the prayer requests just keep coming and I appreciate them very much. I ask that you continue to pray for those devastated in the Pacific Rim and for those Americans who have lost their health insurance.

I also ask that you continue to pray for Dora; remember her and how she is a diabetic who is in a nursing home and has lost both of her legs to this horrible disease.

I am asking that you add Kathy, a resident at the same nursing home to your prayers. She has just lost her 23 year old son and does not have a spouse to help her through this troubling time. I am asking that we all step up and be her Rock and ask God to help comfort her in these troubled times.

BS – 11/17/2013 – 97
BS – 11/18/2013 – 102
BS – 11/19/2013 – 115 (crazy right - I ate badly on the weekend – why up now?)

Again this picture represents just how majestic our Maker was when putting us together and building this magnificent machine we call our bodies. Just hard for me to believe that people do not believe that a Super Being put all of this together.

I mean speaking of a well-tuned engine that just purrs when it is running right – how about that body of ours and how it uses blood as the conduit into every part of our body.

Just think of the oxygenation of our blood. In one direction it travels through the lungs to be filled with oxygen – the very basic requirement of life. Add to that the sugar that we monitor is the very source of energy. Just two natural aspects of life carried in the blood and constantly purified and enriched for our natural health.

 

If the original concept does not get to you. Just look at this picture of all the places the blood goes and the total number of arteries and veins we have in our bodies.

Think of those that are big and carry lots of blood and those tiny little capillaries in small places like our eyes.

Every piece of skin, every small aspect or your body, and every nerve in your body relies on this think we call blood – our life energy.

No wonder we diabetics learn to monitor this and take care of it. Something is wrong with our natural production and consumption of the sugar.

Try this experiment if you want to see the impact of high blood glucose on the flow of your blood. Take two classes, one empty and fill one about ¾ full of water. Then add a little red die to the class with water. Begin to pour it into the empty glass and notice how it flows without effort between the two glasses. Pour it back and forth a couple of times and just appreciate how the normal flow of blood is working.

Now take as much sugar as you can and fill the glass with the water in it all the way up. You should now have about ¾ water and ¼ sugar. Let it settle for a minute and let the sugar and water become one. Now pour the liquid from one glass to the other. Notice the thickness and how it does not flow. Now think of that thick blood trying to get into those very small capillaries in your fingers, or eyes, or toes.

Get the picture how nerve damage starts?

Science to the Rescue:

As I have stated a few times, I think God knew we needed science to take care of our bodies like we need mechanics to take care of our cars.

A1c and what it is just amazes me still. It is a 60-90 day AVERAGE of what your blood glucose level has been. AN average! Can you imagine the ingenious thinking that went into that when the master engineer designed our bodies?

Now think of the first mechanic (scientist) that came along and discovered that our bodies could do that. Then develop a test to tell us what it has been. According to WIKI:

Glycated hemoglobin (hemoglobin A1c, HbA1c, A1C, or Hb1c; sometimes also HbA1c) is a form of hemoglobin that is measured primarily to identify the average plasma glucose concentration over prolonged periods of time. It is formed in a non-enzymatic glycation pathway by hemoglobin's exposure to plasma glucose. Normal levels of glucose produce a normal amount of glycated hemoglobin. As the average amount of plasma glucose increases, the fraction of glycated hemoglobin increases in a predictable way. This serves as a marker for average blood glucose levels over the previous months prior to the measurement.

But science did not stop there as they realized that monitoring every 60-90 days was not enough. They developed the instant measurement of blood glucose level in our blood.

In 1962, Leland Clark and Champ Lyons at the Medical College of Alabama developed the first glucose enzyme electrode. It relied on a thin layer of glucose oxidase on an oxygen of oxygen consumed by the enzyme.

Another early glucose meter was the Ames Reflectance Meter by Anton H. Clemens. It was used in American hospitals in the 1970s. A moving needle indicated the blood glucose after about a minute.

Test strips that changed color and could be read visually, without a meter, were also widely used in the 1980s. They had the added advantage that they could be cut longitudinally to save money. As meter accuracy and insurance coverage improved, they lost popularity. However, a generic version of the BM is marketed under the brand name Glucoflex-R. There is a UK Pharmaceutical company (Ambe Medical Group) who have the executive rights for distribution within the United Kingdom.

At least in North America, hospitals resisted adoption of meter glucose measurements for inpatient diabetes care for over a decade. Managers of laboratories argued that the superior accuracy of a laboratory glucose measurement outweighed the advantage of immediate availability and made meter glucose measurements unacceptable for inpatient diabetes management. Patients with diabetes and their endocrinologists eventually persuaded acceptance. Some health care policymakers still resist the idea that the society would be well advised to pay the consumables (reagents, lancets, etc.) needed.

Home glucose testing was adopted for type 2 diabetes more slowly than for type 1, and a large proportion of people with type 2 diabetes have never been instructed in home glucose testing. This has mainly come about because health authorities are reluctant to bear the cost of the test strips and lancets.

May God continue to give us scientist and medical professionals to help monitor and care for our magnificent body. May he always guide them in ways that only the Master Engineer can lead mechanics with curious minds.

Bob,