Dr. Jimmie Bailey of North Okaloosa Family Medicine recently spoke to ITG Clinic owners and coaches at our national conference about the types of diabetes, hypertension, and the many medications associated with them. Have you wondered how the body uses sugar for energy and what normal blood sugar levels should be? What is A1C? How do diabetes and hypertension medications work in the body?

Diabetes is a common group of chronic metabolic diseases that cause high blood sugar (glucose) levels in the body due to defects in insulin production and/or function. The FDA has approved many medications to treat diabetes, but how do they work? Depending on the type of diabetes a patient has, doctors decide which medications will work to improve the health of their patients by considering several factors.

With hypertension (blood pressure) issues, doctors measure the "top" and "bottom" number - the "top" is systolic blood pressure and "bottom" is diastolic blood pressure. Systolic is the pressure when the heart is pumping blood out while diastolic is the pressure when the heart fills with blood, getting ready to pump again. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), systolic should be less than 120 and diastolic less than 80 to be in the normal range. It was once believed that only the diastolic pressure was important, but this is not true. Elevated systolic pressure alone, common in older people, is just as dangerous as elevations of both systolic and diastolic pressure.

Diet and weight loss help with blood sugar issues and blood pressure. Many who have lost weight while on the ITG Diet Plan have been able to reduce or eliminate their medications while being monitored by their doctors. Some who were diagnosed as pre-diabetic were able to forego being prescribed medication by simply changing their eating habits.

For more about diabetes, hypertension, and medications associated with each, please read Dr. Bailey's article on the ITG Site: "The ABC's of Diabetes and Hypertension."