November is American Diabetes Month.
New data suggests 54 million Americans may be on track to develop diabetes within the next 10 years.
They have pre-diabetes, a condition where blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as type 2 diabetes. A special report in the November issue of Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource covers pre-diabetes and what can be done to prevent it from becoming type 2 diabetes, a potentially debilitating and life-threatening disease.
Overlooking pre-diabetes is easy because there are often no symptoms. And blood tests for pre-diabetes aren’t administered routinely.
People age 45 and older who have never been tested for diabetes should discuss pre-diabetes screening with a physician. A blood glucose test will likely be recommended for those with any of these risk factors:
- A family history of diabetes
- A body mass index of 25 or higher
- Low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or “good”) cholesterol and high triglycerides (another blood fat)
- High blood pressure
- A history of gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- An ethnicity disproportionately affected by diabetes, including African-American, American Indian, Hispanic-American/Latino and Asian-American/Pacific Islander
If you have pre-diabetes, making healthy lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your risk of developing diabetes. One large research study found dietary changes and exercise that resulted in a 5%–7% weight loss could lower the risk of diabetes in high-risk individuals by 58%. For example, someone who weighs 200 lbs. could potentially prevent diabetes by losing just 10 to 15 pounds.
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Yeah, pre-diabetes is an emerging health concern and from what I heard, you are considered pre-diabetic if your blood sugar level runs from an elevated range of 100 to 120 mg/dl. I agree, if you have any of those risk factors, it would be good to submit to medical exams to this end, lose weight, shape up and reform the diet. Moreover, I think that it won’t hurt to take dietary supplements enriched with Omega 3 EFAs such as flax seed and fish oil which helps regulate blood glucose levels.
Nice post!!!
but i want to ask you a ques that why is happen to above 45 year old people?