Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large. 

Sugar how you get so high

Yesterday was the first time in my life I got the flu vaccine. And let me tell you, I am feeling like crap today. Make sense, right? The vaccine is effectively introducing a small strain of the influenza into my body. Of course it is going to react as if I actually got flu. At least the symptoms aren’t truly on the levels of a real one. The last time I got it - more than a decade ago - I was bed-ridden for two days.

It was a smart decision to not get the latest COVID vaccine at the same time. Despite what the Travis Kelce commercial says, asking your body to fight two invading viruses concurrently might not be the best idea. My coworker got both the flu and COVID vaccine at the same time, and he was down in the energy dumps for two days. I’ve a history of symptomatic reaction to the COVID vaccine (the second Pfizer shot was killer), so I am delaying what would be the fifth shot to a later date.

I also got the annual blood test yesterday: the usual cholesterol and glucose measurements. Turns out I am pre-diabetic? My HbA1c is 5.7, which is barely into the pre-diabetic range. I am kind of dumbfounded at this. I’m rather religious with proper diet, sleep, and exercise - and have been since my early 20s. I don’t drink or smoke, and I avoid added sugar whenever possible. My weight is completely normal for my height. How the French am I pre-diabetic?

Since I already get eight hours of sleep per night consistently, and exercise multiple times per week, any adjustments to be made will not be in those two areas. It will have to be diet. Moving forward I will cut back on carbs as much as possible, and eat more vegetables and fibrous foods. Let’s check back in six months when I get the next blood test.

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