Prediabetes and Preventing Type 2 Diabetes

What is Prediabetes?

Prediabetes is when you at a high risk of type 2 diabetes, where your blood sugars are high, but not high enough to have diabetes. It is a serious warning sign that the body is beginning to have difficulty regulating blood sugar effectively. Prediabetes develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin, the hormone responsible for moving glucose from the bloodstream into cells for energy. When insulin is compromised, sugar builds up in the blood, increasing the risk of long-term health problems such as heart disease, stroke, nerve damage, kidney disease, and vision problems.

About 1 in 4 Americans are prediabetic, and more than half of these individuals will develop diabetes within their life. African American, Native American, South Asian and Hispanic ethnicities have all been shown to have an increased risk of having prediabetes. A combination of genetic, environmental, social factors, age, family history and a sedentary lifestyle can also increase risks. 

One of the biggest challenges with prediabetes is that most people do not experience symptoms until it progresses further. Factors such as smoking, harmful drinking, obesity, and abnormal cholesterol may increase the risk of prediabetes. The good news is that prediabetes is often reversible, especially when identified early. Regular health check-ups and lifestyle changes play a critical role in the prevention of developing diabetes.

Diet

A common misunderstanding about dietary advice for individuals with prediabetes is to reduce overall calorific intake. While this important, especially to the obese population, calorie reduction does not directly address blood sugar control. Instead of reducing what is eaten, the key is to slow down the rate of carbohydrate (sugar) absorption into the blood. To do this a healthy balanced and varied diet is essential. Consuming carbohydrates (bread, rice, potatoes, sweets, desserts etc.) with fibres (salads, fruits, nuts, seeds etc.), healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, nuts etc.) and proteins (fish, diary, chicken, legumes etc.) the breakdown of the carbohydrates slows, which essentially improves blood sugar levels. This prevents a sharp spike in blood glucose levels and promotes a steady blood glucose intake. The key takeaway here is that managing prediabetes is not about counting calories but eating carbohydrates with balanced and varied food groups.

An example of a prediabetic friendly chocolate cake:

Chocolate Cake (Carbohydrate) + fresh mixed berries and nuts (Fibres and fats) + vanilla protein yoghurt (Protein).

Exercise

The risk of prediabetes can be reduced with a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance exercise. This combination of exercise has shown to improve sugar tolerance as your muscles use blood sugars more efficiently both during and after activity. Over time this reduces insulin resistance, meaning your body needs less insulin to keep blood sugar levels within a healthy range. These benefits occur not only during exercise, but can continue for hours afterward, helping to stabilize blood sugar throughout the day.

Aerobic exercise can be any exercise that increases your heart rate and engages large muscle groups. This might be long distance running, biking or swimming. Running is a popular choice because it requires minimal equipment and can be done almost anywhere. Regular aerobic exercise helps lower fasting blood sugar levels and improves overall cardiovascular health, both of which are important for managing prediabetes.

If you are a complete beginner start out small, run at a comfortable pace and build yourself up by giving yourself manageable mile goals.

Resistance exercise means exercise that uses weights to improve muscle strength. This can be dumbbell exercises, gym machines or even body weight exercises. Building muscle is especially beneficial for prediabetes because muscle tissue stores glucose and uses it even when the body is at rest. Incorporating resistance training at least twice a week, alongside 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise, can significantly improve glucose tolerance and help prevent the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes.

An example of a bodyweight programme:

Wall press ups	3 sets 12 repetitions
Bodyweight squats	3 sets 12 repetitions
Bodyweight lunges	3 sets 12 repetitions
Plank with rows	3 sets 12 repetitions
Lateral raises	3 sets 15 repetitions

Summary

Prediabetes is common across the globe and serves as an important warning. A progression to diabetes is not inevitable and is reversible if the right steps are taken. A healthy balanced diet along with a combination of aerobic and resistance exercise supports regulated blood sugars and reduces the risks associated with prediabetes. By understanding prediabetes and being proactive individuals can improve health significantly.

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Reference

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