Pre-diabetes is a condition indicating that you are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. It is signaled by abnormal blood glucose levels. The key with pre-diabetes is that it is often reversible, while diabetes itself is not curable. Once you have diabetes, you will have to manage this potentially destructive disease for the rest of your life.
Being able to reverse pre-diabetes and return your blood glucose levels to normal requires regularly checking your blood sugar level. Finding elevated blood levels early represents an opportunity to avoid the devastations and lifelong problems caused by full-blown diabetes. Conquering pre-diabetes requires some lifestyle changes—namely, losing a modest amount of body weight, eating nutritiously and increasing your physical activity.
The tests used to diagnose pre-diabetes measure how efficiently your body breaks down glucose (sugar) in the blood. In the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test you fast for 8 to 10 hours, and then your blood is drawn to measure its glucose level. A result between 100 and 126 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter) indicates pre-diabetes and 126 mg/dl or above indicates diabetes. In the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) you fast for 12 hours, you drink a liquid containing glucose, and then your blood is tested periodically over the next few hours. In this test, a result of 140-200 mg/dl indicates pre-diabetes, and 200 or above is diagnostic of diabetes.
Why should you bother taking action when you get a diagnosis of pre-diabetes? People who have diabetes are at substantially greater risk for developing a wide range of complications, including heart disease, stroke, other circulatory problems, kidney disease, eye disease, nerve damage and more. Think of pre-diabetes as a wake-up call, your chance to stop diabetes in its tracks before it gets a chance to do extensive bodily damage.
So if your doctor tells you that you have pre-diabetes, map out a plan that will allow you to lose 5 to 7 percent of your body weight. Experts say this modest weight-loss target—just 10 to 14 pounds for a person who weighs 200—could be enough to stop your progression toward diabetes.
A moderate exercise program will help you trim down and control your blood sugar. At least 5 days a week, get 30 minutes of aerobic exercise a day through activities such as walking, biking and swimming. Strength training (weight lifting and calisthenics) is beneficial, too, because the more muscle you have the more readily you remove glucose from your blood stream.
Start modifying your food choices as well. After all, losing weight and controlling blood sugar is by far easier to accomplish when you combine exercise with good nutrition, rather than trying exercise alone or nutrition alone. Fill your plate with non-starchy vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach and green beans. Eat plenty of fruit, too, as well as beans, wholegrain bread and whole-grain pasta. Give meat a “side dish” status on your plate. Choose lean cuts of beef and pork, and remove the skin before eating chicken. Switch to non-fat dairy products, and avoid fat in other foods as well—in chips, ice cream and baked goods, for instance.
Sources: The American Diabetes Association and The National Institutes of Health
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