Diabetes is a medical condition where the body is not able to convert glucose (the simplest form of sugar) into energy that can be used by the body. This is due to the body not being able to produce enough insulin which is needed for this process.

The most common form of diabetes is Type II diabetes. A person with this kind of diabetes is someone that would regularly need to check their blood sugar on a regular basis to make sure that his or her blood sugar is within the normal range.

Importance of Recognizing and Treating Pre-Diabetes

Today, more emphasis is given to the condition called “Pre-Diabetes.” This condition is the period before a person can be diagnosed to have full blown diabetes. People with pre-diabetes are those who have glucose levels in the blood that is higher than normal but low the range for a doctor to consider a patient to be diabetic.

Because diabetes is a disease that could either be inherited or acquired based on the lifestyle of a person, doctors have begun to give this condition the same importance as Type II diabetes. This is because people who have this condition may still be able to prevent it from developing into Type II diabetes.

Who are the Likely Candidates?

Apart from having a family history of diabetes, those who are most likely to contract pre-diabetes and Type II diabetes are:

• Overweight and obese people (those who have a BMI higher than 25)
• Inactive people
• Individuals with a family history of high cholesterol and high blood pressure
• Women who have been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and gestational diabetes
• Individuals who are 45 years and older
• Individuals from minority culture groups (African American, Hispanic and Pacific Islanders.

How is Pre-Diabetes Diagnosed?

In general, people with pre-diabetes do not exhibit any visible symptoms that may alert them about pre-diabetes. Some people, however, may experience a number of different symptoms like frequent feelings of thirst and urination, fatigue and blurry vision.

If you have experienced any of these symptoms, your doctor would request two forms of diabetes test to be performed. The first is the fasting plasma glucose or FPG. This is to let your doctor know if your body is still able to properly convert glucose into energy. An FPG test with a blood glucose reading between 100mg/dL and 125mg/dL would indicate that you have pre-diabetes.

The second test performed is called the oral glucose tolerance test or OGTT. This test would measure your blood sugar levels on two different occasions. The first will be after fasting, which is required for both blood tests, and the second is after drinking anything that contains lots of sugar like soft drinks. If the OGTT test results after taking the high-sugar drink is between 140mg/dL and 199mg/dL, your doctor can conclude that you have pre-diabetes.

How to Prevent Pre-Diabetes?

You can prevent pre-diabetes and diabetes altogether. Having a healthy diet and exercising regularly would greatly minimize your chances from acquiring pre-diabetes and Type II diabetes.

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Posted under Diabetes
Tags: blood sugar level, blood sugar levels, blood tests, Cholesterol, Diabetes, glucose levels, health, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, history of diabetes, pre diabetes, type ii diabetes.