PreDiabetes Often Leads to Diabetes, But It Doesn’t Have To
February 19th, 2009 | by Wiiabetes Guest Blogger |Prediabetes is a condition in which the blood glucose levels of a person are higher than normal but not quite high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes. Some doctors and medical journals refer to the condition as impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Whatever you call it, somewhere between 35 and 54 million Americans in the United States have prediabetes with the number increasing every year.
If you have prediabetes or IFG, you have higher than normal odds of eventually getting diabetes. In fact, it is often a pre-cursor to diabetes as a person nearly always has prediabetes before he gets diabetes. A person with prediabetes is also more prone to developing heart disease and strokes. The good news, however, is that if you have prediabetes and you begin life style changes involving better eating habits and more exercise, you have a good 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.
The majority of people with prediabetes have no idea that they have it. Because it has no signs, prediabetes has to be tested for. The test simple. It involves measuring the percentage of glucose in the bloodstream. The blood glucose level is tested both before and after eating. A person with normal levels of blood glucose will have results of lower 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 a sign 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.
Approximately one out of every four people with prediabetes progresses to diabetes within three to five years. Many of the rest advance to diabetes within ten years. And yet, it’s not inevitable that prediabetes will lead to diabetes. With early intervention and by following an alternative treatment for diabetes you can prevent prediabetes from escalating to full blown 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 stop the disease from progressing.
