In 2015 over 30 million people were prediabetic, in 2019 that number jumped to 96 million people over the age of 18. These numbers don’t even count the children and adolescents who are prediabetic or already diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
That’s 1 in 3 people walking around on the cusp of type 2 diabetes and most of them don’t know it.
Are you one of them?
The financial cost of this disease in 2017 was $237 billion in direct medical costs and $90 billion in reduced productivity.
This condition affects all age groups, both male and female.
Type 2 diabetes is when you have consistently high blood sugar levels and when it goes unchecked it can lead to heart disease, nerve damage, eye problems, and kidney disease.
The problem with prediabetes is there are no clear symptoms so you may not realize you have it until it has progressed to type 2 diabetes and you get diagnosed by your doctor.
Signs you may be prediabetic can be feeling thirsty, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision , high blood pressure, and some people develop a skin condition that causes areas of the body to darken and thicken.
If you have a blood sugar drop 2-3 hours after a meal and if you are thicker around your middle, have higher cholesterol and/or triglycerides then you may be prediabetic.
There is good news though!
With prediabetes, the best thing you can do is take action.
You have the power to change things!
With diet and lifestyle changes you can effectively prevent the onset of Type 2 Diabetes.
Here are some quick tips for turning the boat around:
Weight loss.
Just start moving even if it means parking in the furthest spot in a parking lot and walking into a store or taking the stairs instead of an elevator, or go on a walk in your neighborhood.
Your movement will move the sugars out of your blood keeping blood sugar levels more stable.
Eat more protein, fiber, and healthy fats.
All of these foods help to keep your blood sugar levels stable and in a healthy range.
Wild caught fish, grass-fed beef, free-range eggs.
High fiber foods like berries, cabbage, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, and quinoa.
Olive oil, avocado oil, avocados, and olives.
Changing your diet can be daunting which is why I’ve created a program for you called Nutrition and Lifestyle Change for Prediabetes.
This program will help you bring in more nutritious blood sugar stabilizing foods into your kitchen and help you understand the power of food and its impact on prediabetes and the risk of type 2 diabetes.
The program is evidence based (science backed). It is four weeks long and loaded with information to help you on your way to better health.
Each of the four modules has 4 or 5 cooking videos to teach you exactly how to make the recipes within the program.
In addition, you get access to 6 weeks of my meal planning software with specific meals that go along with each week of the program.
You can learn more by going directly to the course page here .
This is a guest post by Stephanie Ewals, CNS, Licensed Nutritionist. www.helpforhashimotos.com
