Prediabetes is basically considered to be a warning of Type 2 diabetes. It means your blood sugar levels are high but not enough to be Type 2 diabetes. As a doctor tells you that you have prediabetes, there is a good chance that you may think that there is no need to take any action just yet. After all, your blood sugar levels are not yet high enough. On the other hand, many may also believe that they are definitely going to get diabetes if they have prediabetes. But none of this is true.
Prediabetes does not mean that you will definitely have diabetes. But it does indicate that its time to take action and turn things around. You must be proactive about prediabetes prevention, and try your best to get your blood sugar level out of the prediabetes range, and keep it that way.
Pointers to follow for prediabetes prevention
Prediabetes can be prevented or reversed by following simple yet impactful lifestyle choices. What you do every day plays a huge role in prediabetes prevention. To keep your blood sugar levels in check, you should try to:
- Lose extra weight: In case you are overweight, slimming down a bit would help in getting the odds back in your favor. In many cases, simply shedding about 5% to 10% of your body weight can be enough to get your blood sugar levels back into a normal range, and avoid diabetes. In order to reach your goal, you should cut calories and limit portion sizes. You must focus on eating fewer foods that are high in fat, carbohydrates, and sugar. You must also eat a wide range of whole grains, lean protein, vegetables and fruits.
- Make exercise a habit: You must aim to lead an active life, and try to engage in some sort of aerobic activity everyday like walking, biking, or swimming. You should also try to do some strength-training exercises at least twice a week. This can be lifting weights or using resistance bands. Strength work builds muscles, which not only helps lower your blood sugar level but can also make your body respond better to insulin.
- Stop smoking: Smoking is strongly linked to diabetes. People who smoke have much higher odds of developing type 2 diabetes than the ones who do not. People with diabetes who continue to smoke are additionally more likely to develop complications like heart disease. Therefore, you should consider ditching the cigarettes as soon as possible.
- Get plenty of sleep: People who frequently sleep for less than 7 hours experience more difficulties in managing blood sugar because it increases insulin resistance. Less of sleep can also make you hungrier or feel less full after eating the next day.
- Manage your stress: Chronic stress causes blood sugar levels to go up and contributes to insulin resistance. Therefore, you should explore ways to relax yourself, like meditate or read a book.
A large number of people with prediabetes do not even know they have it because they have no symptoms and they have not been tested. So regardless of whether you have symptoms or not, it is prudent to get tested every year.
