Most diabetic specialists feel it is now the single most important blood test for known diabetics.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that if you are a diabetic, this test be taken every 3 months. For patients who are not yet diagnosed with diabetes, it is becoming more popular for making the initial diagnosis of Diabetes. The FBS only measures the level of sugar in the blood at the moment it is taken from your finger or arm. The glycated hemoglobin test measures how much glucose is attached to hemoglobin cells, the part of the blood that carries oxygen. As the hemoglobin floats around in the blood, it picks up glucose in about the same proportion as the glucose that exists in the bloodstream.