Untreated pre-diabetes
The CDC has estimated that there are more than 86 million people in the US who are pre-diabetic. That number is probably higher in 2018 since their numbers are based on old stats. In fact, other sources claim that over a third of the population in the US is pre-diabetic. That’s over 115 million people. Chances are that you may be pre-diabetic and don’t know it.
If this condition is not reversed at this stage the result will be full-blown diabetes.
Complication of diabetes
Diabetes is a serious disease that causes many complications and can even result in death . . . if left untreated.
These are the ones that I am familiar with. They have either affected my immediate family or friends and work colleagues:
Hyperglycemia(elevated sugar levels) and Hypoglycemia (low sugar levels). Both can lead to death.
Poor vision – I have two close relatives who suffer from this. One went blind and the other is nearly there.
Extreme neuropathy – Damaged nerves in hands and feet as well as internal organs such as the heart, sexual organs, eyes and hearing.
Sexual dysfunction – Men will suffer from erectile dysfunction and women will have less vaginal lubrication.
Kidney failure – A close relative is on dialysis and probably will be for the rest of his life.
Amputations – One of my co-workers was unaware that he was diabetic and step on a thumb tac at work. Another member of the team pointed it out to him because his nerves were so dulled from poor blood sugar control that he felt no pain. He lost a toe and eventually his entire leg. If he had been more vigilant he would have noticed the symptoms much earlier and taken precautions to prevent this from happening to him.
There are steps you can take starting today to either prevent pre-diabetes from happening to you or reverse the condition if you have it. The complications are not easy. I lost my mother to it.
How to prevent pre-diabetes
- Tests – The first step to preventing pre-diabetes or reversing it it to know whether or not you have it. Visit with your healthcare provider. There are tests they can do to confirm whether you have the symptoms or not.
- Diet – If you have been eating the conventional diet all you life now is the time to start changing to a healthier one. This means starting your day with a proper breakfast and have nourishing snacks and meals throughout the day.
- Exercise – If you want to look and feel young again then start exercising. This has been proven to give you better skin tone, keener sense of balance, stronger joints and muscles, better cardio response, improve focus and alertness and much more. Imagine better blood flow that help get nourishment to your body parts. That’s right. Exercise will improve your heart rate.
- Rest – You must give your body time to properly digest the food you eat and to repair itself. The best way to do this is with necessary rest. You will need to do this everyday. You can’t make up on the weekend what you missed during the week.
- Limit stress – Stress can drive you crazy. Imagine having a rough day at work and going through a divorce at the same time that you are being audited by the IRS. Stress comes in many forms but it can be a precursor to pre-diabetes. Learn to pigeon-hole and deal with the ‘stressors’ in your life.
P.S. I focus on the exercise portion of preventing pre-diabetes. Get more details by visiting How to Prevent Pre-diabetes. Some of the things I discuss include: the best types of exercises to lose weight, improve circulation, how to remain flexible and have younger looking skin tone.