Prediabetes 101: What You Need to Know
Your health should never go overlooked. Living a healthy lifestyle can offer so many benefits, from maintaining a healthy weight and experiencing more energy, to improved sleep patterns, reduced stress levels, and so much more. Making subtle lifestyle changes can also help to reduce your risk of developing certain health conditions. One health condition that a range of lifestyle changes can help you to prevent and/or manage, is diabetes.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at prediabetes in particular, and cover everything you need to know about this health condition.
What is Prediabetes?
Did you know that diabetes affects 1 in 3 Canadians?
The key to helping reduce your risk of developing this health condition is through education and awareness. With the right information, you can strategize and implement a variety of lifestyle changes to help reduce your risk, or aid in long-term management.
To help you get started, let’s talk about prediabetes.
Prediabetes is a health condition that affects your blood sugar levels, resulting in levels that are higher than normal. Although they are high, they are not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes.
Although not everyone with prediabetes will develop type 2, many will. Especially if it is left untreated. By living a healthy lifestyle and taking preventative measures, you can help to reduce your risk.
Symptoms
Whether or not you believe that you are at risk of developing prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, it’s important to regularly check-in with your health care provider. Scheduling annual check-ups can provide your physician with a base line, if in the future your levels were to change or a health condition were to develop.
Any changes to your health should be noted, documented and even discussed with your health care provider. What may appear to be a normal behaviour to one person could in fact be a tell-tale sign of a health condition developing. Such as prediabetes.
The symptoms of prediabetes can include:
Unusual thirst
Frequent urination
Weight change (gain or loss)
Extreme fatigue
Low energy levels
Blurred vision or change in vision
Frequent or recurring infections
Slow healing cuts and/or bruises
Tingling or numbness in hands and/or feet
To learn more about the symptoms of prediabetes, or if you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, contact your family doctor.
Prevention
While a safe and effective prevention method for type 1 diabetes is yet to be discovered, there are a few proven ways to reduce your risk and help prevent prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Living an overall healthy lifestyle is a great way to help reduce your risk of and prevent many health conditions, including diabetes and prediabetes. If you wish to take your prevention one step further, there are a few areas that you can really focus on.
Healthy Diet
Committing to a healthier diet can help to reduce your risk of developing both prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. Sometimes a small change here and there is all that’s required, while others may have to change their eating habits altogether.
Start by keeping a food journal for a a 5-7 day period. This will give you a better idea of which areas you’re excelling in and where improvements can be made. To get started, we suggest removing fast food and as much junk food as possible. This includes everything from french fries and chips, to chocolate bars, burgers and even ice cream.
Be sure to incorporate whole-grains, sources of plant-based protein, fruit, vegetables, dairy, lean meats, nuts, healthy oils, and lots of water into your daily diet. For more information, take a look at Canada’s Food Guide!
Physical Activity
Regular physical activity should never be overlooked.
There are a few ways to track how much physical activity you’re engaging in each day and ways to help improve your habits. One effective way to track your physical activity is by using wearable technology, such as a steps counter. Popular wearable devices include the Apple Watch, Fitbit and even your smartphone.
Ideally, you should aim for at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week. This could equal to 20-30 minutes of physical activity per day.
Forms of exercise can include:
Walking, jogging or running
Going for a hike
Cycling or roller blading
Swimming
Weight lifting
Dancing
Housework or gardening
Whether your goal is to achieve 8,000 steps or to play a game with the kids, so long as you are off the couch and moving around, it’s one step closer to achieving your goals and building new, healthier habits.
Weight Loss
Maintaining a healthy weight can greatly reduce your risk of developing prediabetes. To determine a healthy weight for you, we suggest speaking with your health care provider. They can perform a physical and consult with you about your lifestyle. They may suggest a weight range that is ideal for your height, sex and age, then discuss with you the next steps to achieve that goal.
There are a number of approaches to weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight that may work for you. Some find that implementing a variety of lifestyle changes helps to shed a few pounds, while others benefit from accountability and structure that only a weight loss program can provide.
How Weight Loss Programs Can Help
Are you considering a guided program to help lose weight and reduce your risk of developing prediabetes? Speak with our team of specialists at Coaching & Medicine today for more information about how a weight loss program works. We would be happy to schedule a no obligation consultation and help you get started on the right path!
