(HbA1c of 5.7 – 6.5% )

If you have been recently diagnosed with prediabetes, you can count yourself lucky because this means that you don’t have full fledge diabetes yet. Unlike diabetes, which is a more serious condition that requires lifelong treatment like medications, insulin which can progress in to complications like retinopathy, kidney disease, heart disease and so on, and if worked up needs more time and effort to manage. Prediabetes is reversible with simple diet and lifestyle modifications.

Wake-up before it’s too late for diabetes to develop and start making changes to your lifestyle right now.

How Prediabetes can be Reversed

Prediabetes is a condition of high blood sugar, wherein the fasting blood sugar levels are elevated beyond the normal range like in between 100-126mg/dl and Hba1c is between 5.7-6.4g% , but not high enough to be classified as diabetes. The precise causes are unknown, although insulin resistance is associated with several risk factors.

The condition also doesn’t usually cause symptoms, but you can have symptoms like fatigue, excessive hunger, excessive craving for sugars and is easily identified in routine tests for blood glucose levels.

This highlights the importance of regular health check ups, especially in high risk like with family history of diabetes, if you are obese and if you have stress, with history of gestational diabetes and poly cystic ovarian syndrome in females

If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes, follow these simple steps to reverse the condition and prevent diabetes.

Simple Steps To Reverse Diabetes

• Eat Healthy
  You don’t need to give up sugar altogether yet, but cutting back will help. Most importantly, modify your diet so that it excludes or lowers any consumption of processed foods that are high in sugar, fats, and calories, without providing much nutrition. Whole foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, pulses, nuts, seeds, lean meats, and fish are some of the healthiest options. When having fruits , consider having fruits with low glycemic index like apple, banana, strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, avacados and pear. Include complex carbohydrates in diet than simple sugars like whole wheat, whole grains, peas, beans and vegetables. Remove all refines products like refined rice, refined sugars and refined oil.
• Stay Active
  Exercise helps improve insulin sensitivity, while a sedentary lifestyle is known to increase the risk of diabetes. Getting active even with mild to moderate intensity exercises on a regular basis can help reverse prediabetes. Make sure to engage in at least 30 minutes of physical activity like walking, cycling, or swimming for 5 days a week. Exercise lowers blood glucose levels and boosts your body’s sensitivity to insulin, countering insulin resistance.
• Manage Your Weight
  Obesity is a major risk factor for diabetes and losing weight is an important goal for anyone diagnosed with prediabetes. Studies show that a weight reduction of just 10% can help lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• Reduce stress
  Stress-related disorders are known to be on the rise and there is a direct link between diabetes and stress. Chronic stress causes levels of hormones like cortisol and adrenaline to remain elevated, which can contribute to insulin resistance. Taking time off for rest and engaging in relaxing activities like meditation can significantly reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
• Get Adequate Sleep
  Make it a point to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night and seek help if you suffer from any kind of sleep disorder. Studies show that sleeping for less than 5 hours regularly or for over 8 hours is linked to higher blood sugar levels. So, it’s important to get just the right amount of sleep. Not too much and not too little.
• Stop Smoking
  Smoking is known to pose one of the greatest health risks and that is also in the context of diabetes. In fact, the risk of developing diabetes is up to 40% higher for smokers. Even second-hand smoke may pose a risk to anyone with prediabetes, as research suggests that insulin sensitivity is impaired with exposure to nicotine.Although these steps to reverse prediabetes can be extremely effective, it may not be the same for all individuals, as every individual body is unique. That is why it’s important to monitor your blood glucose levels and checked by a healthcare provider and diet needs to be followed up with the help of a dietician or a nutritionist.