November is (Pre)Diabetes Awareness Month

The American Diabetes Association actually refers to November as “just” Diabetes Awareness Month. However, I decided, in my omnipotence, to focus on prediabetes as one is still able to revert back to no-diabetes status with a little commitment and hard work. In other words, being diagnosed with prediabetes does NOT inevitably lead to full-blown type 2 diabetes.

Prediabetes, in the simplest terms, is higher than normal blood sugar levels usually due to something called insulin resistance. When we eat, especially carbohydrates, our blood sugar levels increase as the sugar is converted to glucose and sent to our muscles to provide us with energy. However, in order to get that glucose to the cells within our muscles, our pancreas produces a hormone called insulin. This reduces our blood sugar (or glucose) levels back to acceptable levels. In people with prediabetes, this process begins to break down and they can no longer process glucose properly. Either the pancreas stops producing enough insulin or our cells become resistant to it (insulin resistance). This eventually causes glucose levels within our blood to remain at abnormally high levels, known as type 2 diabetes, and this can cause all kinds of other health related problems. And you do NOT want type 2 diabetes if it can be avoided.

Roughly 84 million people within the U.S. have prediabetes and 90 percent of them are unaware of their condition. The reason most do not know they are prediabetic is because there are few easily discernable symptoms. If symptoms are noticed, they include:

• Above normal thirst
• Urinating more than normal
• Blurry vision
• Excess fatigue
• Dark patches on the skin, especially around the neck, armpits, elbows, knees and/or knuckles

There are, however, easily recognizable risk factors associated with prediabetes, and they are:

• Being over the age of 45
• Being overweight or obese with excess belly fat.
• A waist size of 40 inches or more for males and 35 inches or more for females
• A sedentary lifestyle
• Consumption of a lot of red and/or processed meats as well as high sugar foods and beverages
• Consumption of too few fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains and and/or olive oil
• Family history of diabetes or type 2 diabetes
• Being of a certain race, including African American, Latino, Native American or Pacific Islander
• Sleep apnea
• High LDL and low HDL cholesterol levels
• Polycystic ovary syndrome

If you or someone you know has several of the above risk factors and shows some of the above symptoms, there are simple tests that can diagnose prediabetes that involve testing blood glucose levels. The three most often used tests are:

• Fasting plasma glucose test which involves fasting for a short time (usually 8 hours) and then having blood drawn to test glucose levels. The results are measured in milligrams per decaliter (mg/dL) with under 100 mg/dL being normal, 100-125 mg/dL indicating prediabetes and anything over 125 mg/dL indicating type 2 diabetes.
• An oral glucose tolerance test might be administered after a fasting plasma glucose test to confirm the initial results. It involves drinking a high-sugar beverage, waiting two hours and then measuring blood glucose levels again.
• The hemoglobin A1c test reveals blood sugar levels over the past two to three months and is usually used to measure the long-term glucose levels of diabetics. However, it can be used to diagnose prediabetes as well. This test measures the percentage of red blood cells that have sugar-coated hemoglobin with 5.6% or lower being normal, 5.7%-6.4% indicating prediabetes and 6.5% or higher revealing type 2 diabetes.

The good news is that if the above tests reveal prediabetes, all is not lost. Through lifestyle changes, the condition can be reversed and type 2 diabetes can be avoided. The goal of these lifestyle changes would be to lower your blood glucose level below prediabetes range and to keep it there. This can be achieved with modest lifestyle changes such as:

• Eating less processed carbs, red and processed meats and sugary foods and drinks and eating more fruit, vegetables, nuts, poultry, seafood and healthy fats.
• Enacting and sticking to a modest exercise program that involves 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, such as walking, swimming, or biking, five days a week with strength training two days per week. Check with your doctor before beginning this program.
• A weight reduction of between 5% and 10% of your current body weight. A study revealed that this modest weight reduction reduced a prediabetic’s chances of progressing to type 2 diabetes by 58%.
• If you smoke, stop.

Yes, prediabetes is a serious condition, but it’s also a warning alarm that allows you to avoid a much more serious disease if the proper steps are followed. However, a blood glucose test is the only way to definitively diagnose the condition, without it, you might not know you had prediabetes until you’re diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Do NOT be that person. If you have any reason to suspect you are prediabetic, schedule a blood glucose test ASAP!

And if you have prediabetes, our diabetic portion-controlled meals can help you lose weight and stick to it!