"Total Cholesterol and HDL
"Preparation:
This test may be measured any time of the day without fasting. However, if the test is drawn as part of a total lipid profile, it requires a 12-hour fast (no food or drink, except water)."
Lipid Blood Tests
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2012
"Requiring a patient to fast for many hours before a lipid test may soon be a thing of the past.
Although present guidelines encourage doctors to test for total lipids and lipid subclass levels only when a patient has fasted for more than eight hours,
a report published online November 12, 2012 in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that there may no longer be a need for a patient to fast [1]. There is very little difference in lipid levels when measured in a fasting or nonfasting state, according to the research.
"The incremental gain in information of a fasting profile is exceedingly small for total- and HDL-cholesterol values"
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/791376
There are some limitations to that study (aren't there always?
) Perhaps age and other co-morbidities demand that fasting is necessary.
Evidently my doctors felt it wasn't necessary to fast.
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For glucose monitoring there are various methods used:
"There are several different types of blood glucose tests.
Fasting blood sugar (FBS) measures blood glucose after you have not eaten for at least 8 hours. It is often the first test done to check for prediabetes and diabetes.
2-hour postprandial blood sugar measures blood glucose exactly 2 hours after you start eating a meal. This is not a test used to diagnose diabetes.
Random blood sugar (RBS) measures blood glucose regardless of when you last ate. Several random measurements may be taken throughout the day. Random testing is useful because glucose levels in healthy people do not vary widely throughout the day. Blood glucose levels that vary widely may mean a problem. This test is also called a casual blood glucose test."
Blood Glucose Levels: Testing and Normal Range
For those that are worried about getting diabetes or have diabetes----- they should do what their doctor advises.