You May Already Have Prediabetes

Prior to developing type 2 diabetes, a person may already have what is known as "prediabetes"

, a condition of consistent above normal blood sugar but not enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. In the US alone, according to American Diabetes Association (ADA), there are 70 million people suffering from prediabetes. If you have the risk factors associated with diabetes such as obesity, high blood pressure and a family history of diabetes; you could already have prediabetes without knowing it.

Prediabetes and diabetes occurs in every race or age group but there are certain ethnicities that are at a higher risk of developing both conditions. Both are common in Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, Asian Americans, Latinos and African Americans. If you belong to any of these races and are exposed to previously mentioned risks, then you are at a higher risk of having prediabetes.

The good news is that there are tests that can be taken to determine if you really have prediabetes. These tests are: AC1, fasting plasma glucose or fasting blood sugar and the oral glucose tolerance test. For AC1, the normal value is less than 5.7%. You have prediabetes if your test resulted to between 5.7% and 6.5%. A fasting blood sugar result of between 100 to 126 mg/dL means you have a prediabetes. An oral glucose tolerance result of 140 to 200 mg/dL also means prediabetes. In all three tests, being below the lower number indicates normalcy while above the upper number indicates full blown diabetes.

Even better news is that if you have prediabetes, you can do something to prevent your condition from becoming full blown diabetes. You can reverse the trend and prevent diabetes by changing your diet, increasing physical activity and managing your weight. In fact, according to ADA a daily 30-minute moderate exercise and a 7% reduction in body weight decrease the risk of diabetes by 58%.

If you believe that you are at a higher risk of developing diabetes, in addition to doing the necessary changes in your diet and physical activity; you can also actively monitor your blood glucose level by testing your blood glucose at home using a glucose meter. A glucose meter is convenient, easy to operate and allows you to personally monitor changes in your blood glucose at the comfort of your home.

There is no better defense against diabetes than having the interest and the desire to know if you have prediabetes. Prediabetes can be reversed and it does not even require medication or great personal sacrifices. Just remember that once you have diabetes, it is a life-long condition that requires insulin therapy and great lifestyle changes.

by: Maricel Sanchez

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