How To Find Out If You Will Have Diabetes OR Pre-diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus, or more commonly known as diabetes, is a critical health condition that raises blood glucose in the body. If your fasting sugar level is found to be equal or greater than one hundred and twenty-six milligrams per deciliter, it is considered beyond the safe threshold.

In the case of prediabetes, it means that the glucose levels in your body are over the normal range, though not as high as to be that of diabetes. If the care provider or family physician has told that you are diagnosed with prediabetes, it also suggests that you are likely to develop type two diabetes in future, unless of course, you are to incorporate a number of healthy lifestyle changes. Individuals with prediabetes are expected to experience the type two diabetes onset within a decade past their clinical diagnosis and the odds of suffering a stroke or a heart attack turns out to be higher among them.

WHY PREDIABETES SHOULD CONCERN YOU

If it is confirmed by a registered medical practitioner that you have prediabetes, you can take the required measures to prevent or at least postpone the development of type two diabetes. Many of the prediabetic people discover and comprehend in due course of time that they can make the necessary changes and resume life as it was used to be. 

WHY WOULD YOU BOTHER ABOUT DIABETES

Various vital organs in your body are affected by diabetes and when left untreated, it results in a host of serious complications, such as renal disease, CVD or cardiovascular disease, including stroke and PAD or peripheral artery disease, metabolic syndrome, abnormal cholesterol levels causing atherosclerosis, damage or loss of vision, neuropathic damage and loss of sensation in the extremities that can result in amputation. 

However, diabetes is preventable in most instances and can also be treated. If you are diagnosed with diabetes, you may delay or avoid other health issues by simply choosing to a healthy lifestyle; finding out your numbers, including blood pressure, cholesterol level, weight, and your blood glucose level; as well as working with the care team for controlling your condition, which may include pharmacotherapy. 

PREDIABETES AND DIABETES RISK FACTORS

As per the latest finding from CDC or Centers for Disease Control, thirty-five in every hundred adults in the USA aged twenty to sixty-four are prediabetic, based on their hemoglobin A1C or fasting glucose levels, and half of the country’s population, who are sixty-five or over satisfy the criteria for the same.

A number of research studies have indicated that individuals with high likelihood of type two diabetes development can reduce the odds or decelerate the disease manifestation and can make their blood sugar levels return to normal if they are to lose weight and exercise more.

Various factors can decrease or raise the probability of prediabetes and diabetes. While some of the risks can be mitigated through behavioral change, others are independent and cannot be influenced by any possible means. However, even in the event that you have a few risk factors, which cannot be manipulated, altering with the ones that are under your control can create a massive difference. 

Always remember that though the risk factors do change how likely or unlikely the disease development is to occur, they never regulate the outcome. For many of the prediabetic patients, the choices that they are to make play a pivotal role in deciding one’s outcome.

MODIFIABLE RISKS FOR PREDIABETES

All the risk factors that can be affected by your choices, known as modifiable risks, are illustrated below in brief. 

SHEDDING EXCESS BODY WEIGHT 

If you are overweight or obese, you are more expected to develop diabetes in comparison with those who are not. The ratio of your height and weight is expressed as basal metabolic index, that is, your BMI and you can use a BMI calculator to find out yours. Consult with a healthcare professional if you are required to accomplish your desirable weight, for instance, if you tend to be underweight or happen to be a veteran athlete. 

FOLLOWING A HEALTHY DIET IN THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT

A diet that is comprised of starches, fats, and sugar in high quantities often provide your body with additional amounts of glucose than it is required. 

When it comes to prediabetes, a person’s diet is regarded as among the most vial modifiable risk factors. Make sure to opt for a healthy food regimen, such as farm-fresh vegetables and unprocessed fruits, as well as whole grains, in place of sugary edibles. Note that you can also get added sugar from foods which you might perceive as healthy, such as canned fruit, yogurt, cereals, and pasta sauces. Sugar-ladened beverages, cakes, sodas, candies, and pies are never to be considered being the exclusive sources of the same. Grow the habit of studying food labels and making informed decisions in accordance with your bodily needs. 

Only a small number of people select their foods on the basis of what will offer the optimum nutrition for them and by not having a planned strategy in place, you are more likely to choose foods just because of their alluring taste or the convenience that they offer. Take ample time to critically review and redesign your diet plan while exploring the healthier alternatives for both your gastronomical and emotional good health.  

INCREASING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Exercise does not necessarily mean that you have to spend hours in a swanky gymnasium. Even a brisk walk of fifteen hours every month can greatly reduce the odds of heart disease and diabetes. As you increase flexibility, endurance, and strength with moderate exercise, think of trying out more active sports as well, such as biking, swimming, tennis or yoga. 

REDUCING OR CONTROLLING STRESS:

It is imperative for you to realize that controlling daily stress is the key to manage not just diabetes but also cardiac issues and several other health problems. While you cannot always govern the behavior of other people, you can always learn different means for responding and reacting. Newly inculcated habits can aid in changing the way your body responds to stress, which, eventually, affects the risk of developing a heart condition as well diabetes and also your general health. 

REFRAINING FROM SMOKING:

There are many helpful resources widely available on the web these days that you can readily leverage for kicking the habit. If you were unsuccessful in the past regarding the same or if you have any queries in relation to smoking cessation, it is advised to visit your healthcare provider and become acquainted with the numerous tools that can assist you in getting rid of this serious vice. 

CEASING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION:

Heavy alcohol use can lead to pancreas inflammation and reduce the organ’s ability to make enough insulin. Additionally, alcoholic beverages can damage your liver while adding more starch and sugar to your diet, which should have stored or used as fat otherwise. 

IMPROVING SLEEP QUALITY:

Making a plan for ample sleep time can be done by most of us. However, a few people may be having a sleep disorder; such as insomnia, a health condition when you wake up way soon or it becomes increasingly challenging to go to sleep; or sleep apnea, that is, troubled breathing during the sleep. Seeing a healthcare professional for identifying and managing own sleep problems can not only save you from cardiovascular issues but help enjoy a deep slumber at night as well. 

MANAGING ALLIED CONDITIONS:

Hypertension and high cholesterol are the other risk factors commonly associated with heart disease and prediabetes. However, you can improve these conditions by incorporating the aforementioned changes in your life and upgrading to a healthy lifestyle is going to offer you additional advantages. 

NON-MODIFIABLE RISKS FOR PREDIABETES:

Many people are not even aware that they have type one or type two diabetes. While some of the risks are genetic, the rest are acquired as you are to age.

AGE:

The more you are to grow old, the greater are the probabilities of developing prediabetes and most individuals are more likely to be become prediabetic once they turn forty. 

FAMILY AND GENETICS:

A number of factors that reduce or raise the likelihood of prediabetes are inherited from the progenitors. Having a close blood tie who has diabetes may suggest that you are at higher risk. Specific ethnicities come with a greater risk of developing diabetes. For instance, the African, American Indian, Alaskan Native, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, or Pacific Islander. 

GESTATIONAL DIABETES:

Diabetes can be developed by some expectant mothers until childbirth and face a greater chance of manifesting the disease later again. 

In spite of all the risk factors that may be applicable for any given individual, people can always choose to improve the very ability of their bodies for controlling the particular health condition. Choose wisely and seek the care you require to know more about how to lead a healthy life. 

MODIFIABLE RISKS FOR TYPE TWO DIABETES:

By integrating healthy changes in your life, you can not only bring down the odds of diabetes or slow down its onset but can also improve the quality of life that you are to lead in the years ahead. 

OVERWEIGHT OR OBESITY:

If you happen to be overweight, the odds of developing diabetes increases. To put things into perspective, losing five to seven gram for every kilogram can reduce the odds of developing the health condition by half and the risk becomes even lesser as you are to shed more weight. Consider learning how to control own weight from an experienced and certified healthcare professional. 

SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE:

In addition to being obese or overweight, physical inactivity is acknowledged as one of the most critical risk factors concerning type two diabetes and prediabetes. Do make a pint to involve in any of the following exercises to take care of your overall cardiovascular well-being. 

Do a minimum of ten hours of aerobics of moderate-intensity every month.

Have five hours of high-intensity aerobic workout on a monthly basis.

Carry out both of these two exercises accompanied by strength training at least eight days per month.

HYPERTENSION:

Apart from corroding the cardiovascular system, high blood pressure can also lead to diabetes, if left untreated. Remember to learn more about the condition and all the possible measures that you can take for managing the condition by going to a hypertension specialist clinic at Homer Glen in Illinois.

ELEVATED LIPID LEVELS:

If your triglycerides level is found to be high while that of the HDL, that is, high-density cholesterol, or more commonly known as the good cholesterol turns out to be low, you are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and type two diabetes. Maintaining an appropriate weight, taking interest in adequate aerobic physical activity, and following a healthy diet can help manage abnormal lipid levels. Pharmacotherapy is also prescribed on certain occasions. 

By learning how to live healthy from a qualified healthcare professional, you will be able to manage your modifiable risk factors. It is highly recommended to take the proactive steps now for avoiding or postponing the onset of diabetes and also improve the quality of life. 

NON-MODIFIABLE RISKS FOR TYPE TWO DIABETES

Various risk factors boost the odds of pre-diabetes development and, eventually, type two diabetes. Some of them being beyond your control, cannot be impacted, and are as follows. 

FAMILY HISTORY:

If someone in your family tree has diabetes, the odds of developing the disease increase for you. Share your complete family history with your physician for a critical evaluation of the same. 

RACE OR ETHNICITY:

If you happen to be Asian-American, African-American, Native American, Latino-Hispanic American, or Pacific Islander, the possibility of diabetes manifestation increases in your case. 

AGE:

The older you get, the greater are the chances of developing diabetes. Usually, type two diabetes manifests in middle-age, most commonly after forty-five. Nevertheless, an increased number of adolescents and children are diagnosed with type two diabetes in recent time by the healthcare providers. 

ANY PAST INCIDENCE OF DEVELOPING GESTATIONAL DIABETES 

If you had diabetes when you conceived, you are at greater risk.