When the blood sugar levels of an individual are elevated higher than average but not elevated high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes, the condition is called prediabetes. Many physicians and medical journals call this condition impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Whatever name you give it, somewhere between 35 and 54 million Americans in the United States have prediabetes with the number growing every year.
Being aware that you have prediabetes or IFG is important because if you have it, your odds of eventually getting diabetes are increased. As a matter of fact, prediabetes is usually a pre-cursor to diabetes because a person almost always contracts prediabetes before she gets diabetes. Additionally, a pman or woman with prediabetes is at increased risk of eventually coming down with heart disease and strokes. The good news, however, is that if you have prediabetes and you start to change your life style and eating habits along with doing more exercise, you have an excellent chance of staving off diabetes.
What does prediabetes mean for your body? It’s a sign that the cells in your body are becoming insulin resistant. The body requires insulin in order to change sugar, starches, and other foods into glucose that the body can use. Without insulin, the body is not able to process the sugar leaving it to accumlate in the bloodstream. Before too long the escalating sugar volume results in high blood sugar levels. If the blood sugar level is constantly elevated, odds are that diabetes is present.
Most people that have prediabetes are not aware of it. It is a condition that has to be tested for because it has no symptoms. The test simply involves measuring the percentage of sugar in your bloodstream. The blood sugar level is tested both before and after eating. A person with normal levels of blood sugar will show results of less than 100 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl). A 100-126 mg/dl level of glucose before eating and a 140-199 mg/dl level of glucose after eating, is an indication of prediabetes.
Statistically, certain nationalities such as African American, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Inuit, and Native Americans, are at higher risk of being diagnosed with diabetes than others. Weight is another risk factor. If you are overweight, you have an increased risk of prediabetes. Other risk factors are family history, high blood pressure, and high levels of triglycerides. Older people are also more likely to develop the disease. If you are near or over the age of 50, you should request that your doctor or health care specialist give you a blood glucose level test. Testing allows those at risk to be identified early enough for something to be done before its too late.
About 25% of every person with prediabetes comes down with diabetes within 3 to 5 years. Many of the rest advance to full blown diabetes within ten years. Even so, it’s not inevitable that prediabetes will lead to diabetes. With early intervention and by following an alternative treatment of diabetes you can prevent prediabetes from escalating to diabetes. Many times simple life style changes such as losing weight, eating less processed foods, eating more high glycemic foods, and starting a minimal exercise program are all that is needed to halt the disease in its tracks.
