Get the Facts on Prediabetes.

So you’ve had a great Christmas vacation – spent some great quality time with the kids – been off visiting family and friends. Maybe you’ve even overindulged a little?

So much good home cooking on offer, wine, a few beers?

Does this sound like you?

Your wife (or husband) is nagging at you to go have a check up at the doctors, it’s been about 4 years since your last one! Lo and behold..he tells you that YOU’RE PRE DIABETIC.!

It doesn’t have to be this way – diabetes is basically a non-communicable lifestyle disease that (much of the time) is self-inflicted.

Well, read on if you want to get off that path to diabetes and get the chance to change your life NOW.

So, what are the facts on Prediabetes?

It’s actually a bit of a grey area, but basically your body is not able to efficiently manage blood sugars after eating any more. Your blood glucose levels are higher than they should be, but not quite high enough to fall into the Type 2 diabetes category.

How do you know if you’re at risk of Prediabetes?

Unfortunately, in most cases you can have it and not even know it! There’s no symptoms and no warning signs.

Being overweight is one of the main risk factors – especially excess fat around the waistline.

Without regular doctors checks, the increased blood glucose level that goes hand in hand with prediabetes, goes undetected.

Some who fall into the ‘prediabetic ‘ category, may also have some of the symptoms of diabetes. Here are a few of the main ones to watch out for.

Eye damage.

The most common type of eye damage for a diabetic, is retinopathy. (This is where the blood vessels in the retina, become week, damaged and may often bleed or leak.)

Some nerve damage.

This is referred to as neuropathy. About 50 % of diabetics end up with some nerve damage. You may get numbness, tingling, or weakness in the hands and feet. (That is why regular exercise is so vital, especially if you are diabetic or fall into the prediabetic category.)

Nerve damage can affect so many parts of the body, stomach, abdomen – These in turn can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, problems with the bladder and even sexual dysfunction in men.

Kidney damage.

Damage to the kidneys caused by diabetes, is called nephropathy. (From the Greek nephros for kidney). Once again, its raised blood glucose levels, higher than normal blood pressure levels and excess blood fat levels that contribute to kidney damage in diabetics.

Unfortunately, it’s hard to detect kidney damage and sometimes even an examination by your doctor won’t pick up until it’s too late – sometimes patients can lose almost all of their kidney function before symptoms are apparent.

Problems with your teeth and gums

You may experience problems with your teeth and gums, as increased blood sugar levels also affect the flow of saliva lowering your infection fighting white blood cells.

Remember to brush twice a day and have regular dental checks!

Heart problems

Cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke) along with obesity and

diabetes, is killing 18 million people a year – a large majority of these diseases are purely due to the modern lifestyle. Mums are out working now, fast food joints are everywhere, we are eating more food, more often and it’s a lot more processed, rather than fresh. Packaged food became much more attractive, cheaper and has a longer shelf life.

Do you have problems sleeping? You may be experiencing Prediabetes.

If you are one that only sleeps around 6 hours or less each night, and it’s a regular pattern for you, you may fall into the category of prediabetes. These are some of the things you could be experiencing that puts you within the prediabetes category.

The only way to find out for sure, is by visiting you physician and requesting a ‘fasting blood glucose test’.  If this reveals you levels are between 6.1 to 6.9mmol/L, then there may be a further test required where you have to drink a really sugary drink (oral glucose tolerance test) to see just how well your body deals with it. This is the sure fast way to determine whether you need some radical lifestyle changes, to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. It may be as simple as just following a good diet for pre diabetes.  Follow this link for some tips on a good Diabetic Meal Plan. Be sure to visit us here again soon, where you can find out more on the Facts on Prediabetes.