MercySide | spring 2008

Keep Your Blood Sugar
From Creeping Up

Years before type 2 diabetes develops, blood sugar levels often start climbing above normal. Call it a warning—one that you should quickly heed. The higher your blood sugar levels creep, the greater your risk for heart attack and stroke.

On the road between normal blood sugar and high blood sugar—or diabetes— is a place called prediabetes.

People with prediabetes have blood sugar that is higher than normal, but not high enough to be diabetic. Doctors often call prediabetes “impaired glucose tolerance” or “impaired fasting glucose,” depending on which test they use to detect it.

According to a recent study, up to one-third of people with prediabetes will develop full-fledged type 2 diabetes within five or six years.

Doctors can detect prediabetes with a blood test. You should consider getting tested if you are age 45 or older— especially if you are overweight. Being heavy raises your risk for this condition.

Doctors also may recommend testing for younger adults who are overweight or have other risk factors for prediabetes, including:

  • A family history of diabetes
  • A Hispanic, Asian-American, or African-American background
  • High blood pressure

The road to diabetes is not a oneway- only lane. If you have prediabetes, your good habits can delay—and even prevent—type 2 diabetes.

Healthy lifestyle changes cut the risk for diabetes by 58 percent in a recent, three-year study of 3,200 people with prediabetes. If you have prediabetes, you may be able to bring your blood sugar back to normal with the following strategies:

  • Slim down if you are overweight.
  • Losing just 5 to 7 percent of your weight can lower your blood sugar. Aim to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week by cutting your food intake by 500 to 1,000 calories a day.
  • Walk briskly, bike, or perform other moderate exercise for 30 minutes five days a week. Regular moderate exercise improves blood sugar control and helps you shed pounds.
  • Eat a low-calorie, low-fat diet. Choose lots of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These high-fiber foods can help your body use insulin better.