The sweet science of combating prediabetes
Making healthy choices is difficult when the consequences of your bad choices don’t show up right away. That’s one reason it’s tough for some folks to recognize that they’re on a glide path to Type 2 diabetes.
But we’re here to alert you to the signs and help you prevent or even reverse prediabetes — and so prevent fullblown Type 2 diabetes.
What is prediabetes?
Prediabetes is when your glucose levels are higher than normal, but not yet at a level where you’ve developed diagnosable Type 2 diabetes; a fasting glucose level of 100-125 mg/dL signals prediabetes. Rising glucose levels in prediabetes indicate that you might have become resistant to insulin, the hormone secreted by your pancreas that shuttles glucose to your cells for energy.
One in three Americans have prediabetes and 90 per cent of them are unaware of it. If that’s you, the health risks associated with prediabetes — heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, brain dysfunction and Type 2 diabetes — can sneak up on you.
Do you have prediabetes?
An at-home quiz can tell you if you’re a candidate for prediabetes. The test — which you can find online at doihaveprediabetes.org — asks seven simple questions and takes less than a minute to complete. It focuses on risk factors such as being overweight or physically inactive, having a history of high blood pressure or a family history of diabetes, gender, age and ethnicity.
If the online tool shows that you could have prediabetes, you should follow up with your doctor for a glucose test to confirm results.
reverse or prevent prediabetes
Once you know that you have elevated glucose levels, it’s time to take steps to reclaim your health.
Manage your weight: Losing just five to seven per cent of your body weight can reverse prediabetes and help control Type 2 diabetes. You can do that.
Get active: Get at least 150 minutes of light aerobic activity weekly (say, a brisk 30-minute walk five days per week). Even 10 minutes at a time adds up. Small steps lead to big changes in how well you’ll live the rest of your life. The key is to start today. Your goal: Get 10,000 steps (including a 30-minute walk) daily. Make a pedometer your constant companion.
Eat more healthfully: Fill up on vegetables and fruits (five to nine servings daily), 100-per-cent whole grains (two servings minimum) and avoid added sugars and syrups, trans and most sat fats and processed foods. Read nutrition and ingredient labels so you can make better choices about what you eat.
Quit smoking or don’t start: Smoking increases the risk of serious health problems associated with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes by causing inflammation in your blood vessels and triggering insulin resistance.