About Prediabetes

Prediabetes is a serious health condition in which your blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough yet to be diagnosed as Type II diabetes. Insulin resistance is believed to be the #1 cause of prediabetes.

To understand insulin resistance, you need to understand what insulin does. When you eat food, your body converts that food into dietary sugars. Insulin is a hormone released by the pancreas that tells your cells to open up to that sugar and convert it into energy. With insulin resistance, the cells don't react and don't open up, resulting in excessive sugar in the blood. Over time, the pancreas keeps trying to regulate the blood sugar, producing more and more insulin until it wears out and can't produce large amounts of insulin anymore. Eventually, your pancreas can’t keep up, and your blood sugar rises, setting the stage for prediabetes and Type II diabetes down the road. With lifestyle changes, most notably achieving a healthy weight, your body can allow insulin to work more effectively and help to keep blood sugars within a normal range.

Because prediabetes often doesn’t have symptoms, the best way to determine if you have prediabetes is to ask your physician to order a blood test. He/she will determine what needs to be measured in addition to your fasting blood sugar.

If you suspect you may have prediabetes, but haven’t yet been diagnosed, I encourage you to go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and take a quick prediabetes risk analysis offered by the CDC and The American Diabetes Association. Take quiz →

If you have prediabetes, the long-term damage of diabetes — especially to your heart, blood vessels, and kidneys — may already be starting. The good news, however, is that progression from prediabetes to Type II diabetes isn't inevitable.

Eating healthful, whole foods, as opposed to those that are highly processed, such as chips, soft drinks, candy, cookies, and more; achieving and maintaining a healthy weight; making physical activity part of your daily routine; managing stress; and obtaining adequate sleep can all help bring your blood sugar level back to normal.