What You Don't Know About Prediabetes
By Sara Butler
Diabetes is a very common chronic disease in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 100 million adults have diabetes and 84 million people have prediabetes. It turns out that even though many people have prediabetes, people don’t know a lot about it in general. Here are a few things you don’t know about prediabetes.
It’s Very Common
Obviously, the numbers mentioned above spell out that prediabetes is very common. But to make it a little clearer, try a little experiment the next time you’re a the store: Count out nine adults. Then consider that three of the people you just counted has diabetes. That can help you wrap your mind around the fact that one-third of Americans have prediabetes. And of all those people, 90 percent don’t know they have it.
It’s Not Harmless
When some people think of prediabetes as a precursor, they underestimate how dangerous the condition is to overall health. Prediabetes is a sign that something isn’t working right in your body. Prediabetes means the body cannot utilize insulin correctly or it doesn’t make enough insulin to meet demands.
Some other problems can occur as a result of insulin resistance associated with prediabetes. Often, fatty liver, high blood pressure, blood vessel dysfunction, heart disease, and abnormal blood cholesterol levels can occur in conjunction with prediabetes.
It Rarely Has Symptoms
There’s a reason why so many people have prediabetes but don’t know it -- most of the time there are no symptoms. Healthcare providers routinely test blood sugar levels around age 45, but it’s possible to have had the condition for several years before that. If you have some of the risk factors of prediabetes, then you should get checked. The risk factors include:
- Fatty liver
- High blood pressure
- Abnormal cholesterol
- Obesity
You Can Eat Carbohydrates
Most people think that prediabetes and diabetes make you unable to tolerate carbohydrates, but the truth is that whole grains are actually beneficial to a healthy diet when you have this condition. There is a difference between the carbohydrates you’ll find in a slice of cake and the carbohydrates found in a piece of whole grain toast with peanut butter. When you have prediabetes, you shouldn’t shy away from foods such as oats, berries, beans, nuts, and lentils.
Make sure to have your blood sugar checked regularly and keep an eye on your health!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Richardson, Tex.