What Are The Ways Of Preventing Diabetes?
It is possible to delay pre-diabetes and diabetes and, in some instances, prevent it from developing at all. Pre-diabetes is the stage where there are higher-than-normal levels of sugar in the blood stream, but not enough to be classified as diabetes. It is important to know that pre-diabetes can lead to type 2 diabetes, especially if left untreated. Luckily, a recent study has shown that moderate exercise and a change to healthier ways of eating can help prevent pre-diabetes and possibly diabetes itself.
People with a risk of developing pre-diabetes are in the same category as those for type 2 diabetes. These categories include people whose genetic background predisposes them to the illness: African Americans and others of African descent, Native Americans, Latinos and people of Asian descent. Age also plays a role in who will eventually develop either pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Your physical health and weight factor into those risk levels as well.
Doctors can tell if you are pre-diabetic by performing two standard tests, namely the fasting test (FPG - Fasting Plasma Glucose) and the glucose tolerance test (OGTT - Oral Glucose Tolerance Test). The results of these tests will confirm whether you have pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or if you are diabetes-free.
The FPG test is normally done in the morning, and the patient is advised not to eat anything after 10 PM the previous night. A higher-than-normal reading for the FPG is an indication that you have been insulin resistant for a while.
OGTT, the glucose tolerance test, is used to measure your blood glucose level after an overnight fast, but unlike the FPG, you are also given a glucose drink two hours after the test. Your blood glucose levels are then checked two hours later; if the range is between 140 and 199 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter), you will be considered pre-diabetic. These levels are also an indication that you may develop type 2 diabetes later on.
If you are tested positively as having pre-diabetes, it is important to take annual tests so that you catch developed diabetes in its early stages. Early diagnosis is the easiest way to get the disease under control before too much damage has been done to vital organs.
Preventing pre-diabetes is possible with a change of diet and an increase in activity level. Thirty minutes of moderate activity coupled with weight loss is recommended by the American Diabetes Association as the best way of minimizing your risk of becoming pre-diabetic. Even if you aren’t in the category of people that are more predisposed to pre-diabetes or diabetes itself, proper health care and physical activity are important regardless.
To learn more go to Diabetes Management and at What is Diabetes
