Diabetes Prevention

The normal level of sugar (glucose) in someone’s blood—before meals—should be below 100 mg/dl. People with diabetes, however, have levels of 126 mg/dl and higher. Those in the middle— between 100 and 125 mg/dl—are said to have pre-diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association estimates that 41 million people in the United States between 40 and 74 years of age have pre-diabetes. These people have a high risk of developing diabetes and its complications—including heart disease, kidney damage, blindness, nerve damage, and foot problems.

The good news is that people with pre-diabetes can lower their blood glucose to normal levels through diet and exercise, thus preventing diabetes. Research has shown that people with pre-diabetes that loose 5% to 7% of their weight have a greater chance of preventing diabetes.

For example, a pre-diabetic weighing 200 lbs needs only to loose 10 to 15 lbs to prevent diabetes. This may be accomplished by exercising half an hour for 5 days a week and following a diet low in calories and fat.

The Diabetes Prevention Program of the National Institutes of Health has created a plan to prevent diabetes through physical activity and diet planning. Some of their recommendations in the Small Steps, Big Rewards plan include:

• Establishing with your health provider the amount of calories and fat grams to consume each day and keeping track of them.
• Walking at least 5 times per week. Walks can be divided in three parts: slowly for the first five minutes; faster for the next five minutes; and slowly again for fifteen minutes. Every week you can add 2 to 3 minutes to the fast walk.

Progress can be assessed with a blood glucose monitoring system, which displays reports in chart or graph form without a computer. The system has a built-in memory that allows you to see trends during different periods of time.

Loosing weight will not only help you prevent diabetes but also the risk of a heart attack and other diseases related to being overweight or obese.