Prediabetes: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

Last updated on September 30th, 2023

In a world grappling with an escalating diabetes epidemic, the term “prediabetes” has emerged as a critical warning sign. Prediabetes presents both an opportunity and a challenge. With millions of individuals worldwide, understanding prediabetes as more than just a precursor to diabetes is imperative. This article delves into the complexity of prediabetes. It unravels its significance as a pivotal juncture for intervention and shedding light on the proactive measures individuals can adopt to steer clear of the progression to full-fledged type 2 diabetes. Moreover, from defining prediabetes meaning to detecting how it can happen and its symptoms. Then, we explain the tests you can undergo to detect it and, finally, ways to stop it and prediabetes self care. We give you a full-fledged insight into prediabetes.

What is Prediabetes?

When your blood sugar levels are higher than usual, you have prediabetes. However, it’s not that high enough to be classified as type-2 diabetes. The blood sugar level ranges just below the cutoff for type-2 diabetes. Prediabetes serves as a warning indicator so that type 2 diabetes can be delayed or best averted. People with type-2 diabetes typically had prediabetes initially, but their disregard for their health caused it to progress to type-2 diabetes. Insulin resistance leads to prediabetes in a person. If your prediabetes HbA1c level, or the average blood sugar over the last two to three months, is between 5.7% and 6.4%, then you have prediabetes. HbA1c levels under 5.7% are considered normal, whereas levels over 6.4% signify type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes fasting glucose levels are another indicator of prediabetes. You may have prediabetes if your fasting prediabetes sugar level ranges between 100 mg/dL and 125 mg/dL. A diabetic has a fasting sugar of 126 mg/dL or above, while a normal person has one below 100 mg/dL. A glucose tolerance test (GTT) is a different method of determining prediabetes. A patient with prediabetes will have a GTT blood sugar ranging between 140 mg/dL and 199 mg/dL.

Read More: How to Reverse Prediabetes Naturally?

What Causes Prediabetes?

Prediabetes develops when insulin in your body does not work properly. Insulin primarily helps the blood cells to use glucose from your bloodstream. When your body is unable to use insulin effectively, then glucose levels in your blood rise. Higher levels of blood sugar than normal indicate prediabetes. Prediabetes sugar level is higher than normal levels but lesser than diabetes sugar levels. If you do not control prediabetes, it can develop into diabetes type-2. Such high glucose levels in your blood can damage your nerves and blood vessels as well.

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Prediabetes Symptoms

Usually, prediabetes symptoms or signs of prediabetes are not generally detected. Mostly, people get prediabetes diagnosed by chance. This can happen during the medical screening or routine blood check. Therefore, it is important to keep checking your blood sugar if you fall in the category of people having a high-risk factor of being prediabetic. The warning signs of prediabetes may include:

Increased Hunger And Thirst

In symptoms of prediabetes increased thirst and hunger are top signs. Increasing blood sugar levels in your body are a result of a lack of insulin or insulin resistance. This means your body is not able to convert food into energy. Lack of energy, therefore, makes you feel more hungry and thirsty.

Unexpected Weight Loss

Lack of insulin or insulin resistance prevents your body from getting glucose from the bloodstream. It hence causes a lack of energy. Thereafter, your body starts burning fat and muscle to get energy. This causes overall body weight loss. This is another one of the top prediabetes symptoms.

Read More: Know About Good Foods for Prediabetes

Frequent Urination

Other signs of prediabetes is an increase in urination. Excess blood sugar in your bloodstream triggers your body to produce more urine to flush out excess glucose from the body.

Fatigue

When your body doesn’t get enough energy to work due to a lack of insulin, you may feel tired all the time. The low energy level is one of the prediabetes symptoms.

Read More: Know The Prediabetes Range Before and After Eating.

Risk Factors For Prediabetes

Some of the risk factors for prediabetes include:

• Haemoglobin A1C level between 5.7%-6.4%
• A family history of prediabetes or diabetes type-2
• Being overweight or physically inactive
• Women who had gestational diabetes or polycystic ovary syndrome
• Eating too much-processed food, sugar, and soda
• Being under high stress
• Smoking

These factors increase your risk of becoming a prediabetic. You need to take special care of your health if you are under any of the mentioned factors.

Read More: Is Type 2 Diabetes Curable?

Prediabetes Diagnosis and Treatment

Your doctor will suggest any of the following tests to diagnose prediabetes in case they notice symptoms of prediabetes. In prediabetes treatment, these tests will be at the top prediabetes chart.

Haemoglobin A1c test

A prediabetes HbA1c blood test helps calculate your average blood sugar levels in the past 2-3 months. This test calculates the percentage of haemoglobin that is bound to the blood sugar. The prediabetes HbA1c level is between 5.7% and 6.4%.

Oral Glucose tolerance test

Oral glucose tolerance is the ability of your body to tolerate the consumed glucose. This test measures how your body maintains its blood sugar levels after consuming sugary solutions. In this test, there is a comparison of prediabetes blood sugar levels before and after drinking the sugary solution. This test is very common for diagnosing gestational diabetes. If you have prediabetes, your prediabetes glucose level or blood sugar level will be in the range of 140-199 mg/dl.

Read More: What Is Type 2 Diabetes Management?

Fasting Blood Sugar Test

Fasting blood glucose is a type of blood test. It requires a person to fast for more than 8 hours or overnight. A fasting blood sugar test measures the level of glucose in your blood in a fasting state. The purpose of this test is to determine how your body can maintain blood sugar levels. The normal range of prediabetes fasting glucose is between 100-125 mg/dL. A normal person will have a fasting blood sugar between 70-99 mg/dL. On the contrary, a diabetic has a fasting blood glucose of 140+ mg/dL.

Prediabetes Treatment

The best prediabetes treatment is the natural cure for prediabetes. Switch to healthy eating habits and start doing strength and mass-building exercises. Adopting these lifestyle modifications is the best prediabetes medication you can ask for. Doctors for prediabetes management recommend the following:

Weight Management: For a complete prediabetes cure, it’s important to maintain body weight in accordance with BMI. So overweight and obese prediabetes patients should lose a few kilos. Losing even around 5%-7% of body weight, you will start experiencing positive health changes in your body. On the contrary, underweight prediabetics should gain weight and build up some muscle mass.

Balanced Diet: Another important factor for prediabetes treatment is switching to a nutritious diet. Include non-starchy veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fats in your diet. Avoid simple carb food sources, sugary food items, and animal and dairy products.

Some other steps to follow for prediabetes management include:

• Quit Smoking
• Limit alcohol consumption to a bare minimum or best avoid it.
• Build muscle mass
• Do stress management
• Keep related disorders in check like blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.
• Maintain a proper sleep schedule of a minimum of 7-8 hours
• Join a support group of individuals tackling the same issues.

Read More: Can Type 2 Diabetes be Reversed Permanently?

Can Prediabetes be cured?

While there are many ways to control prediabetes, you can wonder, is prediabetes curable? Well, the good news is yes, you can reverse or cure prediabetes. Inculcating some lifestyle changes or modifications, and you can have a natural cure for prediabetes. By adopting a healthy diet, engaging in regular muscle-building workouts and maintaining a healthy weight, many people with prediabetes can bring their prediabetes blood sugar levels back to within normal ranges. These changes can significantly reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. However, it’s important to continue these habits long-term to sustain the benefits and prevent the condition from worsening. Another important prediabetes self care is consistently monitoring your sugar levels and periodic HbA1c level checks.

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Prediabetes Management

Prediabetes is a hard stop for your sedentary lifestyle if you want to reverse prediabetes. Constantly high blood sugar in the prediabetes phase in no time can breach the prediabetes blood sugar levels and go into the diabetic range. Prediabetes self care includes switching to balanced diets loaded with whole grains, lean proteins, non-starchy veggies, fruits, and healthy fats. Limit sugary foods and refined carbohydrates, another top prediabetes self care. Prediabetes management includes engaging in regular strength or muscle-building exercise, aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise. Or 75 minutes of vigorous muscle-building exercise per week. A Finnish diabetes prevention study demonstrated that lifestyle changes aimed at weight loss, healthy eating, and increased physical workout lessened the risk of type 2 diabetes by 58% over four years. Another study by the Indian Diabetes Prevention Program, a lifestyle intervention that included a low-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavioural changes, led to a 28% dip in the risk of type 2 diabetes over three years. Steps you can take for prediabetes management include:

• Closely working with a dietician or doctor and making tailored dietary changes that suit your body best.
• Discovering and exploring new workout regimes with a focus on muscle-building exercises.
• Joining and following people with similar goals and better lifestyles.
• Managing your stress levels and detecting hindrances to your progress.
• Be very careful of your portion sizes to avoid overeating and manage calorie intake.
• Limiting and cessation of smoking and alcohol as these increase the risk of progression to diabetes from prediabetes.

Read More: Can Intermittent Fasting Benefit People with Diabetes?

Conclusion

In conclusion, prediabetes serves as a crucial warning signal that should not be ignored. As we’ve explored, it’s a condition that occurs when sugar levels are above normal but not yet high enough to be in the diabetic range. Understanding the mechanisms behind prediabetes, recognising prediabetes symptoms, and utilising the above-mentioned tests for detection are pivotal steps in early intervention. By identifying prediabetes and adopting necessary lifestyle changes, you start prediabetes management. In prediabetes management you follow steps like maintaining an appropriate diet, engaging in regular strength and muscle-building exercises, managing stress, etc. Individuals can significantly reduce the risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes. The journey from prediabetes to diabetes is not inevitable. Armed with knowledge and proactive measures, one can pave the way to better health and a diabetes-free future. Remember, taking action today can make all the difference tomorrow.

Are you facing any issues regarding prediabetes or have any doubts about its management? Our experienced health experts at Breathe Well-Being are here to help you out. We have a team of health professionals with many years of experience and proven records of helping many patients reverse prediabetes. They can help you devise the perfect strategy to control and reverse prediabetes. So why wait? Call us today!

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