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A person with prediabetes has an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes within five years, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). Fortunately, lifestyle changes can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in people with prediabetes.
The ADA recommends that people at risk of developing prediabetes make lifestyle changes such as losing weight, exercising regularly, and eating healthier foods. The goal is to keep blood sugar levels under control and reduce the risk of complications from diabetes, such as heart disease and stroke.
Things You Need To Know About Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is a condition in which your blood glucose, or blood sugar level, is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. You can be diagnosed with prediabetes if you have an A1C of 5.7% to 6.4%.
Prediabetes is a serious condition that often progresses to type 2 diabetes within 10 years if left untreated.
If you have prediabetes, it means your body is starting to produce insulin poorly and use it even more poorly. This can lead to high blood sugar and insulin resistance, both of which are serious conditions that can cause complications such as heart disease and stroke.
What Are The Signs Of Being Prediabetic?
- . Frequent urination. You may feel the need to go to the bathroom more often than usual, especially in the middle of the night
- Unexplained weight loss or gain. You may notice that your clothes fit differently or that you’ve lost or gained weight without trying.
- Blurred vision. You might notice that you have trouble reading small print, seeing at a distance, or seeing the color blue.
- Tingling or numbness in your hands and feet (neuropathy). Neuropathy can cause pain, tingling, and numbness in your extremities — especially when exposed to cold temperatures or after prolonged periods of sitting still (for example, if you work at a desk)
- High blood glucose levels on two separate occasions (fasting plasma glucose test). To diagnose prediabetes, doctors will run a fasting plasma glucose test to measure your blood sugar levels after an overnight fast of at least 8 hours and before eating breakfast (on an empty stomach)
New Research In Prediabetes
A recent study published in the journal Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology has found that people with prediabetes who take metformin have a lower risk of heart disease than those who do not. Metformin is an oral diabetes drug approved for use in type 2 diabetes patients (not for prediabetes).
The researchers followed more than 12,000 participants from the U.K. Biobank study over seven years and found that those who took metformin had a 36 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), compared to those who did not take the drug. Those who did not take metformin had a higher risk of CVD than those who did take it — but this difference was not statistically significant because so few people without prediabetes developed CVD during the study period.
What Is The Main Cause Of Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is also known as impaired glucose tolerance and impaired fasting glucose (IFG). Prediabetes is sometimes called “borderline” diabetes because it’s not as serious as full-blown diabetes, but it still puts you at increased risk of developing heart disease and other health problems.
The main causes of prediabetes include:
Being overweight or obese: The more weight you gain, the more likely you are to develop prediabetes. This is because fat tissue is active in producing hormones that increase insulin resistance and raise blood sugar levels.
Being sedentary (not exercising regularly): Physical activity helps control blood sugar levels by increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing inflammation in the body — both key factors in preventing type 2 diabetes.
Having too little physical activity is linked with an increased risk of developing prediabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
Do All pre-Diabetics Become Diabetic?
No. Some people with prediabetes (also known as impaired glucose tolerance) don’t go on to develop type 2 diabetes. But for most people, the condition is a stepping stone to the disease.
The risk of developing diabetes increases with age, so it’s important to get screened for prediabetes if you’re over 45 years old.
What HbA1c Level Is Prediabetes?
Your fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level is 100 mg/dL or more (5.6 mmol/L) and less than 125 mg/dL (6.9 mmol/L). Your FPG level may be higher after not eating for 8 hours or longer (after an overnight fast).
Your 2-hour glucose tolerance test result shows that your blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes.
How Do You Permanently Cure Prediabetes?
There are many ways to get rid of prediabetes, but the best way is to prevent it from happening in the first place. The good news is that you can do this by making some simple lifestyle changes and eating better.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by reducing your intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, and rice. These foods break down into glucose quickly and raise blood sugar levels quickly as well. Instead, switch to whole grains like oats or barley and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables for a healthy diet.
Another important step is getting regular exercise. This helps to lower insulin resistance which makes it easier for your body to use glucose properly instead of storing it as fat on your body.
If you have prediabetes, don’t wait until you have diabetes before you take action! Start exercising regularly and make an effort to eat healthier foods today so that you never have to worry about having diabetes again!
What Foods To Stay Away From If You Are Borderline Diabetic?
If you are borderline diabetic, it is very important to eat healthy food. Here are some foods that you should stay away from:
- White Flour: White flour is made of wheat and has lost most of its nutrients. It contains a high amount of sugar and carbohydrates.
- Processed Foods: Processed foods have artificial ingredients that can cause a lot of harm to your body. They also contain high amounts of sugar and carbohydrates which make them unhealthy for people with diabetes.
- Refined Sugars: Refined sugars are added to many processed foods like soft drinks, baked goods, candies, and other desserts. These sugars spike blood sugar levels quickly without offering any nutritional value to the body.
- Alcoholic Drinks: Alcoholic drinks have empty calories which provide no nutritional value for the body but they do increase blood sugar levels in the body.
- Saturated Fats: Saturated fats are found in fatty cuts of meat including hamburgers and hotdogs as well as many other processed foods such as potato chips and french fries.
The Bottom Line
If you have prediabetes, don’t freak out. You still have some time to make changes to your lifestyle, but not much. You need to begin eating healthier and improving your physical activity level if you want to actually see any benefits. It is never too late to make a few simple changes that will lead you back to the blood glucose in range again.
