Do you have pre-diabetes?
Before people develop diabetes, they almost always have pre-diabetes.
Today, more than 40 million adults in the U.S. have pre-diabetes --
and already have blood glucose levels high enough to begin causing
long-term damage to the body, especially to the heart and to the blood
vessels. If the result of your fasting plasma glucose test is between
100 and 125 mg/dl, or if the result of your oral glucose tolerance
test is between 140 and 199 mg/dl, you have pre-diabetes.
Most people with pre-diabetes will develop diabetes, and are already
at higher risk for heart disease, unless they make lifestyle changes
like losing weight. A loss of just 5 to 10 percent of total body weight
can make a big difference.
If you have pre-diabetes, therefore, follow the same lifestyle recommendations
as someone with diabetes. Such changes may keep you from developing
diabetes and protect your heart. Also, get your fasting blood sugar
tested every 1 to 2 years to see if diabetes has developed.