Metabolic
Diabetes
Also known as: Type 2 Diabetes, Sugar, Madhumeh
Understanding your diabetes report — HbA1c, fasting sugar, and what the numbers actually mean.
How MedFast.AI helps with diabetes reports
MedFast.AI reads your diabetes report — fasting sugar, HbA1c, kidney function, lipid profile — and explains every value in plain language across multiple Indian regional languages. Track your HbA1c trend across visits so you can see whether lifestyle changes or medication are working.
Tests & values you'll see
Click any term to open its plain-language explainer.
HbA1c
Your average blood sugar over the last 2–3 months. Doctors prefer it to fasting sugar because it doesn't get fooled by what you ate that morning.
Fasting Glucose
Blood sugar after 8+ hours without food. The basic diabetes screening test.
PPBS
Blood sugar 2 hours after a meal. Shows how well your body handles food; elevated PPBS with normal fasting is an early diabetes clue.
OGTT
A challenge test — drink 75 g glucose, measure sugar at 0, 1, and 2 hours. Standard test for gestational diabetes and unclear cases.
Fasting Insulin
The amount of insulin your pancreas makes at rest. High insulin with normal sugar suggests insulin resistance (pre-diabetes territory).
Triglycerides
Another kind of blood fat. Often goes up with sugary diets, alcohol, or being overweight.
HDL Cholesterol
The 'good' cholesterol — it picks up bad cholesterol and takes it to the liver to be removed.
Creatinine
A waste product your kidneys filter out. High creatinine = kidneys aren't filtering well.
Urea / BUN
Another kidney-filtered waste product. Can rise with dehydration, kidney issues, or high-protein diets.
Frequently asked questions
What HbA1c number means I have diabetes?
HbA1c below 5.7% is normal. 5.7% to 6.4% is pre-diabetes. 6.5% or above on two separate tests confirms diabetes. HbA1c reflects your average sugar over the last 2–3 months, so one high fasting reading alone isn't enough — your doctor will confirm with HbA1c.
Why does my doctor test my kidney and cholesterol along with sugar?
Long-term high sugar quietly damages small blood vessels — first showing up in kidney function (creatinine, urine microalbumin) and heart-disease risk (LDL, triglycerides). Annual diabetes reviews include all three because catching complications early prevents worse ones later.
My fasting sugar is normal but PPBS is high. What does that mean?
Called 'isolated post-prandial hyperglycaemia' — an early warning sign that your body handles food glucose poorly even though overnight glucose is fine. It often shows up years before HbA1c crosses the diabetes line. Your doctor may recommend lifestyle changes and repeat testing.
Sources & Standards
The plain-language explanations above draw on published standards from the following bodies. Reference ranges and thresholds vary slightly by lab and demographic — always check the range on your own report and follow your doctor's interpretation.
- Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI)
India's principal diabetes body
Diabetes diagnostic criteria and management guidelines for Indians.
- American Diabetes Association (ADA)
US diabetes professional body
Widely-referenced diabetes diagnostic thresholds.
- Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
India's apex biomedical research body
India-specific clinical guidelines and reference values.
- Association of Physicians of India (API)
Professional body for Indian internists
Adult-medicine clinical guidelines for the Indian population.
We can be wrong. Explanations here are for comprehension only — confirm every decision with your doctor.
This is a comprehension aid, not medical advice. AI can be wrong. Always confirm any health decision with your doctor.