Do you consider yourself a healthy person? You’re young? Do you work out regularly and stay relatively healthy? If you think that all your answers are positive, maybe you could be wrong and, without knowing it, even be suffering from a state of prediabetes .
This can also happen to nutrition experts. For example, Dina Garcia, a nutritional dietitian, discovered during her first year as a dietitian that she was prediabetic. So maybe you can be in that situation right now.
Find out how to know if you could be in a prediabetic state .
Can I have prediabetes without knowing it?
As we mentioned, Dina García, a nutritionist dietitian, discovered that she was prediabetic. In her new job she was very sedentary and stress caused her to have occasional excesses. This caused him that although he exercised regularly and had a fairly healthy diet, he experienced moderate weight gain.
Dina was surprised to learn that she was prediabetic, in fact, although more than a third of American adults are prediabetic , most do not know it. The surprising truth is that 9 out of 10 people with prediabetes have no idea they have it, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Prediabetes can be sneaky and easy to ignore because it doesn’t manifest itself with symptoms. In fact, it affects many people who appear healthy. Similarly, most GPs do not discuss this with their patients. According to one study, out of more than 11 million visits to the doctor, almost 80% of them missed the opportunity to counsel their patients with prediabetes.
Why don’t doctors talk about prediabetes?
For some experts on this subject, the problem is that it is not a disease in itself, therefore there is no incentive for the doctor to address it. A doctor burdened with paperwork and pressed for time is more likely to deal with an immediate medical problem that can be treated with a prescription or referral, rather than restructuring a patient’s lifestyle.
What are the associated risks of prediabetes?
The clearest risk that can exist is that prediabetes increases the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes . It also increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. Without lifestyle changes, up to 30% of prediabetics will become type 2 diabetic within five years.
Remember that diabetes is the leading cause of amputations and blindness in adults, among other conditions. However, it’s not just the threat of diabetes that is a concern – prediabetes itself causes nerve damage.
In one study, motor nerve damage, called fine fiber neuropathy , was found to be more common in diabetes. This can cause pain in the feet and is a sign of a great deterioration in the nervous system.
Surprisingly, people with prediabetes and diabetes experienced similar rates of small fiber nerve damage over the course of the study. These findings, coupled with public health concerns, should motivate physicians to be more vigilant in detecting prediabetes .
Is it possible to cure prediabetes?
Fortunately, prediabetes is 100% reversible . It can be achieved by combining the following factors:
- Weight loss (which happens slowly).
- Follow a balanced diet.
- Not completely eliminating carbohydrate intake.
- Eat slowly.
- Get adequate sleep.
- Improve stress management through meditation.
One of the best ways to reverse prediabetes is to focus on improving blood sugars and letting this decrease happen naturally.
Therefore, the first step in eliminating prediabetes is to become aware that we can all have prediabetes, the next thing is to have an annual physical exam and make sure that the blood test includes a prediabetes detection. If you don’t have prediabetes, the good news is that a simple diet and lifestyle changes can help you prevent a future diabetes diagnosis now.
How to prevent prediabetes?
The best defense against prediabetes is to have a healthy lifestyle and exercise regularly to immediately improve insulin sensitivity. If you have a sedentary job, make an effort to move at least five minutes every hour from your desk, as well as walk, climb stairs and do stretches.
On the other hand, eating a balanced diet is recommended to control blood sugar levels. Garcia coined the acronym PF, which stands for protein, fat, fiber, and liquid. In the same way, she uses the PF3 concept to create snacks that prevent high levels of sugar from being consumed. Here are 7 examples of low sugar snacks .
- Oranges + pistachios.
- Boiled egg + apple slices.
- Turkey + avocado + whole wheat bread (half a sandwich).
- Cottage cheese + sunflower seeds + sliced cucumbers.
- Kefir (type of yogurt) + strawberries + spinach + avocado + hemp seeds (small smoothie).
- Cheddar + spinach + whole grain tortilla (quesadilla).
- Broth + kale + mushrooms + cannellini beans + olive oil (all in soup form).
Reference
- Maggie Moon, How you can be Prediabetic and not even know it. For Livestrong [Revised January 2017]
