Continuing our discussion about diabetes from the previous blog. The number of Americans with diabetes is staggering: 26 million (that’s 8% of the population!) – and another 79 million have pre-diabetes. Those with pre-diabetes WILL develop type 2 diabetes if they don’t spring into action soon.
There are three ways to diagnose pre-diabetes:
- a fasting glucose of 100-125 mg/dl
- a glucose tolerance test at 2 hours of 140-200 mg/dl
- a Hemoglobin A1C reading of 5.7%-6.4%
Risk Factors for Pre-Diabetes:
- family history of diabetes
- personal history of gestational diabetes
- delivering a large baby
- being overweight
How To Prevent Pre-Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes:
- lose weight (at least 5-10% of your current weight)
- increase physical activity to 150 minutes/week
- eat well with a variety of healthy foods and a moderate amount of carbohydrates
$174 billion… That is the annual cost of diabetes in the U.S. Not to mention, people with diabetes are more likely to suffer a heart attack, stroke, loss of sight, neuropathy and amputations… It makes perfect sense to make some lifestyle changes as soon as you can!!
