84 million American's have this, do you?
According to the CDC, over 84 million Americans now have prediabetes. What’s scarier is that nine out of ten of them don’t even know they have it. yup, that's correct nine out of ten don't even know they have it. Are you one of them?
If left untreated, it can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. However, the exciting part is that prediabetes can often be stopped before it becomes diabetes...or even reversed.
Prediabetes occurs when your fasting blood sugar (glucose) is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. It’s usually diagnosed from a finger-stick test called Hemoglobin A1C.
You can get it from your local pharmacy or by working with your medical practitioner. The test measures the amount of hemoglobin with glucose (sugar) attached. The more attached glucose, the higher the number on the test.
The American Diabetes Association provides the following general guidelines for A1C levels:
-
Normal – Hemoglobin A1C below 5.7%
-
Prediabetes – Hemoglobin A1C between 5.7% - 6.4%
-
Diabetes – Hemoglobin A1C above 6.5% on two separate tests
Prediabetes should be a wake-up call that your body can’t handle the carbohydrate load you are eating. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), without intervention during this prediabetes phase of the disease, it’s common for many people to develop Type 2 diabetes within five years of the prediabetes diagnosis.
Starting strategies to help lower your blood sugar:
First, get more activity—moving your body is the first step to lower your blood sugar naturally. If you are sedentary, start with a daily walk of five minutes and try and work up to 20 minutes. The key is to start with wherever you can and work up from there. The future (and healthier) you is counting on you moving your body. So, set an alarm and make it happen. If you’re already walking or moving, your next step is to add in strength training. Muscle allows you to metabolize carbohydrates much more efficiently.
Second, ditch all processed sugar and refined flour—decreasing inflammation will significantly help lower blood sugar levels. Your goal for ‘added sugar’ should be 9 teaspoons or 35 grams of added sugar per day for men and 6 teaspoons or 25 grams of added sugar per day for women. For example, a 20-ounce Coke blows your sugar budget for the next two days, as it has 60 grams of sugar, which is a large volume of sugar for your body to deal with at one time.
Moving and cutting your added sugar are two important first steps to get you started with reversing prediabetes. The next step to continue your prediabetes reversal is to begin a sustainable, anti-inflammatory eating plan.
Remember, you never have to do it alone, there’s always help available. I’ve seen it done many, many times, and I know you can do it too. Anyone who has reversed prediabetes will tell you how much better they feel. They’ll also tell you about the peace of mind they have since they are no longer on the path to diabetes.
This week, reference your medical labs or make an appointment to get your Hemoglobin A1C tested. If it's high, let's get to work in getting it back in range.
Make it a healthy week!
Fran
Free Nutritional Guidance Delivered To Your Inbox...
Unlock hidden insights for increased energy, confidence, and better health through our nutrition practical tips and strategies, conveniently delivered to your email.
Simply let us know where you'd like us to send them!
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
