Prediabetes: A Wake-Up Call

More than a third of American adults have high blood sugar, or prediabetes, and the rates are on the rise. Having prediabetes raises your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. The good news is that even if you have prediabetes, you can stop or delay the progression to Type 2 diabetes.

What Is Prediabetes — And Why Does It Matter?

Prediabetes means that your blood sugar level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered diabetes.

With prediabetes, your pancreas starts to struggle to produce enough insulin to move glucose (sugar) into your cells. Your cells use glucose for energy. In some cases, your cells stop responding to insulin. This leads to excess sugar in your bloodstream — and eventually to Type 2 diabetes.

If your prediabetes does progress to Type 2 diabetes, instead of fueling your body, this extra sugar in your blood stream begins damaging your organs, blood vessels and nerves. This damage is what causes the serious health problems people living with diabetes can have.

How Do I Know if I Have Prediabetes?

Many people with prediabetes don’t even know they have it. The symptoms are often silent. That’s why it’s important to have a preventive care exam every year with your doctor. They will check your blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure to see if they’re elevated.

5 Ways to Prevent Diabetes

Small steps can have a big impact. By adding these five lifestyle habits to your routine today, you can reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes in the future.

1. Avoid processed foods: Processed foods are well known to be high in sugar and ultra-refined ingredients. Both can spike your blood sugar. There are over 50 words for “sugar”  that can appear on an ingredient list. This makes it hard to know when a food might contain it. Luckily, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration now requires nutrition facts labels to list how much added sugar  is in a product. So check your labels and avoid foods with high amounts of added sugars.
2. Take a quick walk: A short walk (even 5 minutes long) after a meal can dramatically reduce your body’s response to glucose. The sooner you take a walk after a meal, the better. This is because blood glucose tends to peak within 60 to 90 minutes after eating.
3. Combine or pair foods: If you do eat sugar, you can still help avoid big spikes in your blood sugar. To do this, pair the sugar with fat, protein and fiber.  These nutrients take longer to digest and can slow the rate of sugar entering your bloodstream. This helps keep your blood sugar levels steady. Remember, the goal is to avoid the spikes.
4. Sleep more and better: Easier said than done. But good sleep is tied to a healthier blood sugar response.
5. Ease the stress: The hormones released by stress can cause your blood sugar to rise and fall unpredictably. Stress also makes some of us overeat and gain weight, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes.

If you’re feeling stressed, go for a walk, practice deep breathing or watch a funny video — whatever works best for you. You might just see your sense of well-being spike instead of your sugar.

All five of these tips can help you control your blood sugar and lose weight. And that will reduce your risk of developing diabetes. In turn, you will lower your risk of the health conditions tied to high blood sugar and diabetes — and improve your quality of life.

Sources: Prediabetes Is on the Rise – But It Can Be Reversed,  Yale Medicine, 2023; Prediabetes – Your Chance to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes,  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024; The 56 Most Common Names for Sugar,  Healthline, 2020; Added Sugars on the Nutrition Facts Label,  U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2024; Foods that help stabilize spikes and dips in your blood sugar,  Diabetes Care Community, 2023; How Walking After Eating Impacts Your Blood Sugar,  Cleveland Clinic, 2023; Taking a walk after eating can help with blood sugar control,  UCLA Health, 2024; Prediabetes,  Mayo Clinic, 2023