Guest Post: How to Know if You Have Prediabetes
Today I have a guest article for you from my fellow UK blogger Neil Welsh.
Neil has a special interest (and expertise) in diabetes. In this article he talks about prediabetes, a common condition that can lead on to Type 2 diabetes if no action is taken.
Older people – such as many readers of my blog – are particularly prone to this condition. If it develops into full-blown diabetes, it can have life-changing (and potentially life-limiting) consequences. It’s therefore very important to be aware about it and to take action if required. I have a special interest in prediabetes myself, for reasons I will discuss at the end of the article.
Over to Neil then…
Prediabetes is no joke. If left untreated it can develop into full Type 2 diabetes in as little as 3-5 years and lead to complications such as nerve damage, heart disease, increased risk of stroke and potential blindness and amputations.
The tricky part is that it’s not easy to know if you are actually prediabetic or not. According to Diabetes UK, an estimated seven million people in the UK have prediabetes: an under-diagnosed condition that makes them up to 15 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes.
So what are the warning signs and how do you know if you do have prediabetes?
There are four commonly accepted indicators of prediabetes which are:
– Increased thirst
– Frequent urination
– Fatigue
– Blurred vision
Now, on their own, these are not particularly great indicators. I frequently display a number of these symptoms on a regular basis! So, realistically, these indicators need to be considered in conjunction with other risk factors. You are more likely to develop prediabetes if you have any of these risk factors:
– Being overweight
– Being inactive
– Having high blood pressure
– Having high cholesterol
– Having a family history of prediabetes
– Being of South Asian, African-Caribbean or Black African descent.
– Being over 40 years old
The only way to know for sure if you are prediabetic is to have a blood test. This can either be carried out by your medical professional or using a home test kit.
One of the most effective tests is the HbA1c test. HbA1c refers to glycated haemoglobin. This blood test shows how much glucose (sugar) in your body sticks to your red blood cells. The result tells you your average blood sugar level for the past 2-3 months. If your body is not using sugar properly it builds up in your blood and sticks to the cells.
The longer you have had high blood sugar levels, the higher your HbA1C will be. Less than around 40mmol/mol (6%) is considered normal, 40-47mmol/mol (6.0-6.4%) is considered prediabetic, with anything over 48mmol/mol (6.4%) indicating diabetes. It’s different from an FPG (Fasted Plasma Glucose finger-prick test), which is a snapshot of your blood sugar levels at a particular time, on a particular day.
So what should you do if you are concerned that you might have prediabetes? The number one thing is to act now. Take it seriously and avoid the medical complications that may be around
the corner. Prediabetes is totally reversible. Type 2 diabetes is considered reversible only to the extent that you will be in remission and drug free, but the threat of the condition returning will be constant. The sooner you act on prediabetes, the simpler the reversal process will be.
If you are diagnosed with prediabetes or if you are just concerned that it might be on the horizon then the course of action is the same: make changes to your diet and lifestyle.These changes do not have to be dramatic; in fact, you are statistically better off if they are not. An old Chinese proverb says that it is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to take a great leap forwards only to stumble backwards…and in the case of prediabetes this could not be more true.
Making small changes that are appropriate for you and where you are in your journey is the key to success. Work out where you are now and where you want to be and then take small, consistent
steps in the right direction. It could just save your life!
Neil
About the Author: Neil Welsh specialises in helping people reverse prediabetes. He focuses on working with clients to make changes which product remarkable results. Click here to download Neil’s free Prediabetes Reversal Blueprint, a guide to helping you know what to eat and how to live to stop prediabetes.
Many thanks to Neil for an eye-opening article on an important subject that older people (especially) need to be aware about.
I was actually diagnosed prediabetic myself two years ago. How it happened is that on a routine check-up the doctor found I had hypertension (high blood pressure). As I gather is standard in these circumstances, he prescribed various tests to get to the root of the problem. One of these was an ECG – which came out fine – but another was a blood test. My HbA1C result (referred to above by Neil) was in the region defined as prediabetic.
My doctor was actually pretty dismissive about this. He said, “Prediabetes isn’t something we treat.” That wasn’t good enough for me, though, so I researched the topic and read a number of books about it, including the excellent Reverse Your Diabetes by Dr David Cavan. As a result of all this, I made various changes to my diet and lifestyle, in particular cutting down on carbs. To cut a long story short, when I was tested again earlier this year, my blood test results were back in the normal range. My doctor (I have changed to a different one now) said, ‘Whatever you’re doing, keep on doing it!’
I should also add that, probably as a result of losing some excess weight through my diet and exercise regime, my blood pressure has has gone down as well, and I am no longer on any medication for this. Win, win!
Anyway, I hope you will read and note the advice from Neil and download his free Prediabetes Reversal Blueprint. You may also want to check out his Habits for Life programme. By taking action now, you really can reduce the risk of developing full-blown diabetes further down the line. And even if you are already diagnosed with T2 diabetes, both Neil and I believe it is possible to improve your blood sugar control through diet and lifestyle changes and potentially reduce the amount of medication you have to take.
As always, if you have any comments or questions about this post, for me or for Neil, please do leave them below.