To Your Health: Prediabetes is a wake-up call

It is commonly known that diabetes is growing more prevalent in the United States. In 2021, 14.7% (38.1 million) of people over 18 were diagnosed with diabetes. It is even more common among individuals aged 65 and older, about 29%.

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body cannot use insulin correctly and sugar builds up in the blood. It was once called adult-onset diabetes. This can happen because the pancreas doesn’t make enough of a hormone called insulin that helps sugar enter the cells or because cells respond poorly to insulin by taking in less sugar. Type 2 diabetes is more common in older adults. But an increase in the number of children with obesity has led to more young people with type 2 diabetes.

When eating carbohydrates, aim for whole grains whenever possible. Photo courtesy of Goodfood.com.

What you might not know is that prior to developing Type 2 diabetes, people become what is known as prediabetic. That means their blood sugar is higher than normal but is not high enough to constitute diabetes. If you are prediabetic you have a much higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes within five years. Approximately 96 million people in the U.S. have prediabetes; most do not know it because there are few if any symptoms.

The best way to find out if you are prediabetic is to get your blood sugar tested. The prediabetes range for blood sugar levels is:

• Fasting blood glucose: 100-125 mg/dL (5.6-6.9 mmol/L)

• A1C test (which measures the average amount of sugar in your blood over the past few months): 5.7-6.4%

Anyone can develop prediabetes, however a person has a higher risk if they are:

• Overweight

• Over age 45

• Physically active less than 3 times a week

• A woman who had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy), or gave birth to a baby who weighed more than 9 pounds

• A woman with polycystic ovary syndrome

Fortunately, you can take immediate steps to prevent prediabetes and dramatically lessen your risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.

If you are overweight, try to lose a few pounds. Research has shown that losing 5% to 7% of your body weight can cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by more than half. For people over age 60 years that risk drops by more than two-thirds.

Keep moving. Doing at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week can keep prediabetes at bay.

Watch what you eat. Your body breaks down any carbohydrates you eat into glucose, which raises the level of glucose in your blood. The pancreas then releases insulin to help your cells absorb the glucose. You don’t want to flood your body with too much sugar, i.e. carbohydrates that quickly convert to glucose.

The best way to keep those glucose levels moderate is to eat more unprocessed, non-starchy vegetables. Yes, vegetables, just as your mother told you when you were a child. Non-starchy vegetables like lettuce, cucumbers, broccoli, tomatoes, and green beans have a lot of fiber and very little carbohydrates, which results in a smaller impact on your blood glucose.

It’s OK to eat healthy foods including fruits like apples, blueberries, strawberries and cantaloupe; whole intact grains like brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole grain pasta and oatmeal; starchy vegetables like corn, green peas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and plantains; and beans and lentils like black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas and green lentils.

But try to eat less of refined, highly processed foods and those with added sugar. This may be hard to do during these summer months when potato chips and ice cream are lurking at every cookout. Yet simply being aware that sweet drinks like soda or juice and snack foods like cookies or crackers convert quickly to glucose may keep you for going back for seconds.

For learn if you are at risk for prediabetes, go to www.cdc.gov/prediabetes/risktest/index.html.