By Shannin Prather
January 2020 | 2020 Winter Newsletter
Prediabetes is a condition in which blood sugar (blood glucose) levels rise higher than normal, leading to risks of developing diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Individuals with prediabetes are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
In most cases, type 2 diabetes develops gradually where the symptoms are hard to detect. The American Diabetes Association recommends a blood glucose screening for adults at age 45 and earlier if a person is overweight or has additional risk factors, such as having close family members with the condition.
There are no clear symptoms of prediabetes, so a person can have it and not know it. A 2016 study by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research indicated that 46% of Santa Clara County adults may have prediabetes or undiagnosed diabetes.
You can stop the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes by making lifestyle changes. Making small changes such as eating healthy and nutritious foods, increasing physical activity in your daily routine, and maintaining a healthy weight can bring your blood sugar level back to normal. Any change can have a huge impact on managing this disease or preventing it.
Changing your eating habits and getting more exercise doesn’t necessarily mean eating only bland foods and drinking kale smoothies while jogging uphill every day. Reading nutrition labels on packaged foods and lowering your intake of added sugars, refined carbohydrates, saturated and trans fats while doing 15 to 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day can have a positive effect on your health.
If left unchecked, prediabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes, which is a condition that doesn’t have a cure and requires drastic lifestyle changes and expensive medication. A simple test is available to determine your risk for prediabetes; visit doihaveprediabetes.org.