Preventing Diabetes

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), one in three American adults have prediabetes — that’s 96 million people.

Even more shocking is the fact that eight in 10 adults don’t even know they have it. Many people with pre-diabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within the next five years if no action is taken to prevent it.

What is prediabetes?
Simply put, prediabetes means that your blood sugar level is higher than what is considered normal. It isn’t quite high enough to be considered diabetes, but it dangerously close. Without intervention, there is a high chance it can turn into type 2 diabetes. This is true for both adults and children, and it should be closely monitored since the long-term damage from diabetes may have already started. This damage includes areas such as the heart, blood vessels and kidneys.

As mentioned above, as many as eight in 10 American adults do not realize they are prediabetic. How can that be? Well, prediabetes usually doesn’t have many telltale symptoms. For example, sometimes certain areas of the body will develop a darker shade, such as your neck, underarms and groin. However, by the time other symptoms arrive, type 2 diabetes is already underway.

What to know about type 2 diabetes
Type 2 diabetes can occur at any age. It means that your body cannot properly use insulin, an issue also known as insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps glucose get into the cells of the body. In healthy individuals, the pancreas knows how to use insulin efficiently. However, when the pancreas loses this ability, diabetes is usually the culprit.

Some signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes include:
• Feeling unusually thirsty and/or hungry
• Fatigue
• Blurred vision
• Frequent infections
• Frequent urination
• Numbness in the feet or hands
• Slowly healing sores
• Unexplained weight loss

Preventing prediabetes from becoming type 2 diabetes
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with prediabetes, it is time to make a plan to reverse this diagnosis and prevent it from developing into type 2 diabetes. Usually, this is accomplished through lifestyle habits — changes to your diet and activity levels can go a long way to reverse prediabetes.

There are several ways that you can improve your chances of escaping a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, such as:

1. Losing excess weight
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that people with prediabetes lose 7% to 10% of their body weight. This can reduce the risk of developing diabetes by more than half. In short, the greater the weight loss, the higher the benefits.

2. Moving your body
Exercise can help you lose the weight mentioned above, lower your blood sugar, and improve your body’s use of insulin. A good goal is to engage in 30 minutes of aerobic activity each day. This can be in the form of running, walking, swimming, Zumba, or any activity that elevates your heart rate for at least 30 minutes. Resistance exercise (i.e., yoga or weightlifting) is also beneficial in that it increases your strength, balance, and ability to maintain an active life.

3. Eating nutrient-dense food
There seems to be a new diet craze every week. While any of them may help you lose weight, we know little about the long-term effects these diets have on a person or their benefit in preventing diabetes. The goal should be to lose body fat through healthy lifestyle changes, and then maintain that healthy lifestyle change going forward.

Eating healthy, nutrient-dense meals should become a lifelong habit. Training your brain and body to choose healthy foods and control portions is a lifestyle, not a fad diet. One strategy that many dieticians recommend is to divide our plate in the following manner:
• Half of the plate should have fruits and vegetables
• One-fourth of the plate should include whole grains
• One-fourth should be proteins, such as fish or lean meat and poultry

Making tweaks in your current lifestyle may help you avoid the serious health complications of diabetes in the future, such as nerve, kidney and heart damage. It’s never too late to start. If you or someone you love has been told that you have prediabetes or you are showing symptoms of type 2 diabetes, contact your healthcare professional now.

At IntuneHealth, we provide proactive, preventative care designed to keep you healthy. IntuneHealth takes the hassle out of health care by giving you direct access to your primary care physician, a personal care team coordinating all aspects of your care, and an all-in-one app to manage your health. With virtual, in-office and in-home appointments, access to care is conveniently available when and where you need it. Schedule an appointment today to meet your new partner in health.

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A new approach to primary care for those with a Medicare Advantage plan. (239) 790-1122 | IntuneHealth.com