A sobering statistic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and DHHS state: as many as 1 in 3 Americans (approximately 88 million people) have prediabetes and don’t know it. Prediabetes is a serious health condition where your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.
According to the Mayo Clinic, in type 2 diabetes, the pancreas does not make enough insulin, and the body can’t use insulin as well as it should. This means that sugar cannot move into the cells, but instead builds up in the blood. People who have prediabetes are at high risk to develop Type 2 diabetes.
The good news? Unlike type 1 diabetes, where the body does not produce any insulin on its own and thus requires daily injections, lifestyle changes often can reverse prediabetes that leads to type 2 diabetes.
U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease suggests the following actions:
- Take small steps. Making changes to your lifestyle and daily habits can be hard, but you don’t have to change everything at once.
- Seek support. It is possible to reverse prediabetes. Making a plan.
- Lose weight, track it, and keep it off.
- Move more. Limit the time spent sitting and try to get at least 30 minutes of physical activity per day, 5 days a week.
- Choose healthier foods and drinks most of the time. .
- Stay up to date on vaccinations.