Without carbohydrate and protein testing the world would be highly lacking in the medical field. Since these compounds are so important for human life, many would not be saved from illness and disease if there was no way of monitoring them. Important tests for carbohydrates and proteins include: The Benedict’s Test for simple carbohydrates and The Biuret Method for total protein. Once these tests are administered it can be found whether a person has normal or abnormal values in their body. From here Doctors can diagnose and treat to obtain normal ranges. In some cases, abnormal values can be the result of incurable diseases or can result in death if not treated. When considering this, a person will realize the true value of tests like The Benedict’s Test and The Biuret Method.
A very good sign of danger is the presence of carbohydrates in urine, also called glycosuria. According to Chemistry for Today, the Renal threshold is the term used to the describe the level at which a person has a high enough blood sugar level that it begins to be excreted from the body. A widely know test for this is the Benedict’s test, which can alert you of simple carbohydrates in the urine. The way the test works is when reducing sugars are mixed with Benedict’s Reagent and heated, a reduction reaction causes the reagent to change color. According to MicrobiologyInfo.com, the color will vary based on how much reducing sugar is present. A blue color means the test is negative because there was no change; green means there was trace amounts present at 0.1 to 0.5 percent; yellow is moderate at 0.5 to 1.0 percent; orange is also considered moderate at 1.0 to 1.5 percent; red is a large amount at 1.5 to 2.0 percent; and brick red is very large amounts present at 2.0+ percent. When looking at the resulting color, the next course of action can be started for patients with with prolonged abnormal results. This will most likely be a blood test to find actual levels within the blood.
According to Chemistry for Today, in order to properly test blood sugar levels, it is important for a patient to fast for 8 to 12 hours beforehand. The range should be from 70 to 110 mg/dl. 1 hour after after a carbohydrate containing meal, levels can reach a maximum of 140 to 160 mg/dl, but levels should return to normal within 2 to 2.5 hrs. The renal threshold is reached at 180 mg/dl. When levels are lower than what they should it is called hypoglycemia. Higher than normal is defined as hyperglycemia. According to Diabetes.org, the treatment for hypoglycemia is to consume 15 to 20 grams of glucose. If levels are still low after 15 minutes, it is recommended to repeat until normal ranges are reached. The treatments for hyperglycemia is to increase physical exercise, a change in diet, and certain drug therapies. In cases where hyperglycemia is accompanied with ketones in the urine, extensive exercise is to be avoided because ketones being present can cause blood glucose levels to go even higher. For cases where a patient is diagnosed with diabetes, which is a group of diseases that results in too much sugar in the blood, insulin is a common drug therapy used. There are many reasons that a person can develop improper simple sugar levels in body. Blood sugar and blood urine tests are just the first steps to reaching a diagnosis, but are very important for reaching it.
While protein in body fluids is completely normal, a person can have reason to worry if the values drop below or rise above certain levels. A common and widely used test for total protein amounts is The Biuret method. According to Ruf.Rice.edu, the way total protein is found is, “under alkaline conditions, substances containing two or more peptide bonds form a purple complex with copper salts in the reagent.” After the purple complex is produced and the presence of protein is confirmed, a spectrophotometer is used to determine concentration. Since total protein tests measure the total amount of albumin and globulin present, further tests will need to be done to discover which of the two, if not both, is high or low in the body. From here a diagnosis can be reached based on these high or low levels, along with other tests.
Normal protein levels are between about 6 and 8 g/dl in blood samples and less than 150 mg eliminated per day by urine, though ranges may vary due to certain environmental or personal factors. Abnormal protein levels have a wide variety of reasons, but once the source is discovered the proper treatments can be administered. One cause of elevated total proteins in the blood, also called hyperproteinemia, is from bone marrow disorders like multiple myeloma. This disease is incurable and can only be treated to help with the symptoms and to slow the progression. Low total protein in the blood, also called hypoproteinemia, can be the result of a malabsorption condition, such as celiac disease. Treatment for this would be a change in diet by the removing of all gluten. When urine is found to have an abnormal amount of protein, also called proteinuria, this is can a sign of kidney disease. According to Webmd.com, “Healthy kidneys do not allow a significant amount of proteins through their filters. But filters damaged by kidney disease may let proteins such as albumin to leak from the blood into urine.” While this is true, it is important to know that proteinuria can also just be the result of the body making too much protein and it is being eliminated through urine.
