If your sink was overflowing and spilling onto the floor, it wouldn’t be smart to grab towels to start sopping up the water. The wise first step would be to turn off the faucet, then proceed to mop up the mess. Prediabetes is a sign that the faucet is on. Shut it off early, before diabetes, through simple healthy lifestyle improvements.
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your body doesn’t make or use the hormone insulin properly. It causes too much blood glucose (sugar) to build up in the blood. Prediabetes occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than they should be, but not high enough to officially be diagnosed as diabetes.
Prediabetes vs. Diabetes is like the difference between a minor inconvenience to be dealt with and a major crisis.
To prevent or slow controllable risk factors:
- Be physically active to lower stress and control blood pressure.
- Lose weight, as 5 to 10% of body weight can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
- Limit eating saturated fats, sugar and salt.
- Lower cholesterol numbers.
- Don’t smoke.
- Limit alcoholic drinks.