You may have heard this term and assumed it was a new disease, separate from type I or type II diabetes. However, prediabetes is a term applied to a patient with higher than normal blood sugar but not high enough to be considered diabetic. Prediabetes doesn’t describe a new disease but is a precursor to diabetes itself.
As a person starts to gain weight, their body begins to have a difficult time utilizing insulin properly. Insulin is produced to allow carbohydrates, or sugar, into the body’s cells. This sugar, which was absorbed into the bloodstream during the digestion of food, becomes the energy that fuels all of our cells. Without Insulin, the cells don’t receive the proper nutrients and cannot function. The more sugar content in the blood, the more the brain signals the pancreas to produce insulin. However, in people with large amounts of fatty tissue and low physical activity, cells begin to develop something called insulin resistance. The cells of the body don’t absorb sugar and so the blood sugar of a prediabetic’s body begins to rise.
The best way to find out if you are prediabetic is to ask your doctor to run an A1C test when you have your next physical or yearly wellness exam. If your A1C level is greater than 5.7 but less than 6.4 you are most likely prediabetic. The good news is that prediabetes is often reversible, the bad news is it will take diligence and persistence. The majority of people with prediabetes are overweight and live sedentary lifestyles. Talk to your doctor about a diet and exercise program that will help you to lose weight and make healthy lifestyle changes. In time, your body will begin to heal and the threat of irreversible diabetes will lessen.
