. Pre-diabetes and Diabetes: Cornerstones4Care

What is the difference between pre-diabetes and diabetes?

The difference between pre-diabetes and diabetes is how high the blood sugar level are. Pre-diabetes is when your blood sugar (or glucose) levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. Look at the table  to see the levels. Did you know that about 79 million adults age 20 and older have pre-diabetes.

What’s going on in your body?

A condition called insulin resistance increases the risk of getting both pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Insulin is a hormone that is made by the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach. Insulin helps sugar from food move from your blood into your body cells. Your  cells need sugar for energy. Sugar from food can be from sweet foods and drinks, like candy, cakes, cookies, pies and soda or from carbohydrates like starches, fruit, and milk that turn into sugar.

When you have insulin resistance, your body produce insulin but does not use it effectively.  So sugar builds up in the blood which can lead to pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. Most people with insulin resistance aren’t aware that they have it for many years, until it turns into type 2 diabetes. But the good news is that if people find out early that they have insulin resistance, they may be able to delay progression to type 2 diabetes.

Who is at risk?

Here are some of the factors for pre-diabetes and diabetes.

Factors that can be managed:

*Being overweight

*Having high blood pressure

*Having low HDL cholesterol and high triglycerides (blood fats)

Factors that cannot be changed:

*Being age 45 age or older

*Having a family history of diabetes

*Having a history of gestational diabetes or of giving birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds.

*Belonging to an ethnic group at high risk for diabetes such as Native American, African-American, Hispanic or Asian.

It is important to discuss your risk factors with your doctor. If you think you may be at risk for pre-diabetes, see your doctor to be tested.

How is pre-diabetes diagnosed?

You may have pre-diabetes without having any symptoms. Pre-diabetes us found with one of the following test:

*Fasting plasma glucose (FRG) test-Measures blood sugar when you haven’t eaten anything for at least 8 hours.

*Glucose tolerance test (GTT)-Measures blood sugar after you haven’t eaten anything for at least 8 hours and 2 hours after you drink a sugary drink provided by a doctor or laboratory.

*A1C-Measures your average estimated blood sugar over the past 3 months.

Your doctor will look for these values to diagnose pre-diabetes and diabetes.

FPG

Pre-diabetes 100-125 mg/dl

Diabetes 126 mg/dl or higher

GTT

Pre-diabetes 140-199 mg dl

Diabetes 200 mg/dl or higher

A1C

Pre-diabetes 5.7%-6.4%

Diabetes 6.5% or higher

How can you lower your risk of pre-diabetes?

There are no medicines approved by the FDA to treat pre-diabetes. If you have pre-diabetes, your blood sugar should be checked for type 2 diabetes yearly. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), if your blood sugar levels are normal, you should have them checked every 3 years or more often if your doctor recommends it. Pre-diabetes does not automatically turn into type 2 diabetes. You can take steps to lower your risk.

The American Diabetes Association says that you can lower your risk for type 2 diabetes by:

*Losing just 7% of your body weight (or 15 pounds if you weigh 200 pounds).

*Doing moderate physical activity (such as brisk walking) for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

For more information, visit Cornerstone4Care.com

*Disclaimer: All of this information is taken directly from the Cornerstone4Care.com pamphlet. I have not used any of their services so I have no opinion either yes or no to any of their programs. Please call the above numbers or email them for more information.