Diabetes is one of the diseases that today is considered quite common. It is characterized by having glucose levels or blood sugar higher than what is deemed to be expected. As a result, affected people can suffer from a series of quite serious consequences. In the worst case, they can even put the patient’s life at risk. Although the disease is generally detected once it is established, it is possible to catch a condition known as prediabetes. In this state, the onset of diabetes can be prevented, so learning about prediabetes: what is it, its symptoms and treatment can be pretty crucial for those predisposed to developing this disease. We invite you to continue reading this FastlyHealarticle so that you can learn everything about prediabetes.
Prediabetes is a condition in which the blood levels are above sugar typical values but not high enough to be considered the specific levels of diabetes. It is a condition that affects many people and dramatically increases the risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes in the future.
The appearance of prediabetes, in general, is due to the sum of a set of factors that predispose its formation, the main ones being the consumption of excessively fatty and sweet diets and sedentary life, and the detection of this condition is of utmost importance to prevent the onset of diabetes.
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Causes of prediabetes
Typically, prediabetic patients have a condition called insulin resistance. Insulin is the hormone responsible for promoting the absorption of glucose from the blood into the cells to be transformed into the energy necessary to perform their functions. A person who is intolerant to insulin has a decreased ability of his cells to absorb sugar and, therefore, the levels of this in the blood are increased.
There is also a reasonably necessary hereditary component, both for the development of prediabetes and diabetes itself. People whose one or both parents or a sibling develops diabetes are at a significantly higher risk of developing these diseases.
Prediabetes: symptoms
Prediabetes could be considered a silent disease since it does not present any symptoms that can make the person who suffers think, which is a somewhat important characteristic of the disease since this allows it to progress without the affected person being aware of their existence. Among the few early symptoms of prediabetes are:
- Constant hunger and thirst.
- Need to urinate
- Dry mouth
- Blurry vision.
- Soft spot.
However, some specific characteristics and conditions make people predisposed to the development of the disease, among which are the following:
- Age over 45 years.
- Overweight.
- A little exercise and sedentary life.
- Direct relatives diagnosed with diabetes.
- Latin American descent.
- Elevated blood pressure.
- Low levels of good cholesterol, called HDL, and high levels of triglycerides.
Prediabetes: diagnosis
Because prediabetes is a condition that is caused by blood glucose values, the study of these values through a blood test is enough to confirm or rule out the infection. The more risk factors a person has, the more recommended it is to have blood glucose tests. There are three primary variants of the blood glucose study:
- Fasting glucose test: The patient must attend a laboratory to collect the sample in a fasting state. If the test result is between 100 -124 ml/dl, it will be considered prediabetic, with the higher values corresponding to diabetes and the lower values for a normal condition.
- Glucose tolerance test: after spending 8 hours without eating anything, the patient is given a sugar solution to drink, after which they must wait two more hours to take a blood sample and study it. Values between 140-199 ml/dl will be considered prediabetic.
- Glycated hemoglobin: a test that allows estimating glucose values in the last three months through a study of red blood cells. Values between 5.7 and 6.4% are considered prediabetic.
Treatment for prediabetes
As it is a disease that depends on the development of the affected person’s lifestyle, a modification of habits and routines may be enough to stop its progression. While the same medications used in diabetes could stimulate glucose absorption or decrease its entry into the blood, the results seen in patients who are controlled with medications do not outweigh the benefits of lifestyle change.
One of the main goals of treatment is to reduce weight in overweight people and maintain body weight for those who develop prediabetes but are of average importance. The best way to lose weight is by modifying your diet and exercising.
The recommended diet for prediabetes is low in fat and low calories, for which it is good to increase your intake of vegetables, reduce the portions of food consumed at each meal, and choose to bake or grill food.
Modifying the daily routine so that carrying out activities requires a little more physical effort is a good suggestion, such as climbing stairs instead of elevators, walking or using a bicycle to go to work or to the market instead of using a car, doing activities extras like gardening and, of course, including an exercise routine is always favorable.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor if you present any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Prediabetes: what it is, symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our Endocrine System category.
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.