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ARCHBOLD.ORG
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SUMMER 2015
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SOMETIMES,
if we’re lucky, we hear
about an accident or some construc-
tion that is blocking our usual drive to a
familiar place. With enough warning, we
can often change our route and avoid
the problem. Learning that you have
prediabetes is a little like that.
The condition means your blood sugar
levels are higher than normal, though not
high enough to be considered type 2 di-
abetes. However, you are at much greater
risk for developing full-blown diabetes—a
potentially life-threatening disease.
Having prediabetes doesn’t mean
you’ll definitely get diabetes. In fact,
you can view this as an opportunity—a
second chance to keep that from ever
happening. How? By making some
changes in your eating and exercise hab-
its—changes that are very doable. With
PREDIABETES
On the road
to prevention
WilliamCooper, MD
Internal Medicine
McIntosh Clinic
any luck, you may be able to reverse the
course you’re on. This can start in child-
hood, and it’s never too late.
What’s up? Blood sugar.
“Before peo-
ple are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes,
they almost always have prediabetes,”
says internist William Cooper, MD. “Risk
factors include being older than 45 and
overweight and not exercising much.”
As people begin to inch closer to diabe-
tes, their bodies might start to have trouble
using insulin—a hormone that helps the
body turn glucose (a sugar we get from
foods) into energy to power cells.
“As diabetes develops, glucose starts
to build up in the bloodstream. Over
time, high glucose levels can begin to
damage the body,” says Dr. Cooper.
Turn it around.
Again, diabetes
doesn’t have to be in your future.
Research shows that healthy eating and
exercise habits can significantly help you
prevent or at least delay the progression
to type 2 diabetes. If you’re overweight,
losing just 5 to 10 percent of your weight
can make a difference. That’s as little as
10 pounds for a 200-pound person.
Losing weight comes down to using
up more calories than you take in. But
don’t do the diet thing. Instead, remind
yourself that you will be making healthy
eating and exercise habits a regular part
of your life from now on. You can start to
make those changes in small but mean-
ingful ways, like these:
Eat right.
Try eating a little less of
foods that are high in fat. Bite for bite,
they pack more calories than low-fat
foods—and any calories your body
doesn’t burn are stored as fat.
Move it to lose it.
If you normally watch
TV after dinner, why not enjoy a short walk
with a friend or loved one instead?
Exercising regularly helps you burn
calories, so it goes hand-in-hand with
healthful eating. But activity also helps
your body use insulin. Often, a good
goal to work up to is at least 150 minutes
of moderately intense exercise, such as
brisk walking, each week. Start slowly,
and see where your footsteps lead.
Be sure to talk with your doctor about
what steps you should take to help lower
your blood sugar and stay off the road to
diabetes.