What Is Pre-Diabetes?

According to the CDC, 1 in 3 US adults are pre-diabetic. Pre-diabetes is when your blood sugar levels are higher than “normal”, but not high enough to be considered a diabetic. Being pre-diabetic is a serious health condition, and should be controlled as quickly as possible to prevent becoming a type 2 diabetic.

There are 3 different ways your doctor can determine if you are pre-diabetic. The first way is commonly known as the A1C test. This test can see what your blood sugar has been over the past 2 months. The normal range for healthy results in this test is below 5.7%. If your level falls between the range of 5.7% - 6.4% you would be considered pre-diabetic.

The second test used is called the glucose tolerance test. For this test, patients will drink a glucose (sugar) drink and wait a certain period of time (usually around 30 minutes). Once the drink is in your bloodstream, a result of 149 - 199 mg/dL would be considered pre-diabetic.

The last test used is the fasting blood sugar test. Doctors will ask you not to eat or drink before the test and draw blood. If your level reads between 100 - 125 mg/dL you would be pre-diabetic. Anything reading 99 ml/dL or below is considered normal.

The best ways to prevent becoming pre-diabetic is losing weight, exercising, and eating healthy. There are more factors that go into becoming pre-diabetic, but if you are able to manage these 3 concepts, you could set yourself up for major success.

In addition to improving overall health, exercise plays a major role in preventing becoming pre-diabetic by assisting with weight management AND naturally lowering your blood glucose level. Studies have also shown that light exercise such as walking after meals reduces blood sugar.