If you have pre-diabetes the damage to your body may have already started without you knowing about it.
The early stages diabetes or pre-diabetes is a condition where your blood sugar level rises above normal but doesn’t remain there. It returns to normal levels over time. If the condition persists then you are in danger of developing full-blown diabetes. In fact, over fifty percent of the people with pre-diabetes will progress to having full blown diabetes.
Full-blown diabetes is a leading cause of many health complications – poor vision, numbness in hands and feet, erectile dysfunction, heart disease, kidney problems . . . to name a few. Many of these conditions, although subtle, start developing in the pre-diabetes stage.
The problem with early stage diabetes is that there usually are no major signs or symptoms. The good news is that pre-diabetes can be prevented . . . and reversed if you have it.
What are the symptoms of pre-diabetes?
There are certain risk factors that increases the likelihood of developing pre-diabetes or irregular blood sugar level that are not related to how much you exercise or adjustments you make to your diet. They include your ethnicity, family history, the type of activity you do, weight, age and taking certain medications.
Whether you have these risk factors or not there are certain signs or symptoms to be on the look for. Many of these can be mistaken for other causes and this makes it very important that you visit with your doctor regularly for a health check-up. They can assess your blood sugars levels with certain tests and determine whether or not you are becoming insulin insensitive.
Symptoms include . . .
- Blurry vision– Remember, for most of us, our vision naturally deteriorates as we age.
- Muscle weakness and overall fatigue – The signs will be subtle here since you could truly be exhausted from your daily activity.
- Pain or numbness in your extremities – especially hands and feet. This is a classic sign of diabetes and is related to nerve damage. This not only affects your hands and feet but impacts your entire body . . . including internal organs.
- Erectile dysfunction
- Increased thirst and the need to eat more
- Frequent urination
If you notice any of these things happening more often than usual then it’s time to have a talk with your doctor.
Life-style changes to help prevent pre-diabetes complications
Dietary changes
Start eating foods with low glycemic index levels – These include ‘good for the body’ vegetables – kale, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower; fruits like grapes, grapefruits, cantaloupe melons, apples and bananas and nuts such as cashews, almonds and walnuts.
Include more fibrous foods in your diet – sweet potatoes, beans, peas, lentil, avocados, cabbage – pears, berries of all kinds – oats and whole wheat products. It’s been years since I bought a loaf of white bread.
Reduce the total carbohydrates you consume each day especially sugary drinks. One less spoon of sugar in your coffee.
Improve your circulation with this form of exercise
Flexibility is one of the three main components of exercising and it’s often overlooked because there is no visible and immediate impact. However it is just as important as cardio and strength training . . . and its benefits are long lasting.
Do the following stretching exercises regularly for improved circulation.
When doing flexibility training I like to start from my neck and work my way down. Do neck rotations and side to side neck stretches.
Next work on shoulders flexibility.
Chest – For those who do a lot of chest exercises it’s important to stretch them regularly.
Back – Your back stretches should take into account that there are three main areas to back muscles. I break them into upper, mid and lower back muscles. Many people suffer lower back problems for various reasons so use caution when stretching this region . . . paying close attention to proper form.
Lower abdomen – Think upward dog.
Legs – Inner and outer thigh muscles should be strengthen and stretched regularly. Doing this will relieve your knees of excessive stress.
Seven to eight minutes is all you need to complete them. They will improve your posture and flexibility and allow you to stride smoothly.
Improved circulation will help to flush excess sugars from vital organs and supply your body with the right nutrients. Doing your stretches and eating foods that’s conducive to good health is the way to give your body those nutrients and prevent pre-diabetes.
Get more information on stretching and other exercises to improve your health and fitness. Go to How to Prevent Pre-diabetes now.