Pre-Diabetes.
Goal: Prevent Type 2 Diabetes
Action: Address the “root cause”
Purpose: Improve Health and reduce risk of Chronic Diseases
Pre-diabetes is your body’s way of saying “something’s not right” with your metabolism, and if you continue with your current lifestyle, you are heading towards a preventable chronic disease.
Conservative estimates suggest 1 in 3 adults in England have pre-diabetes and this figure continues to grow alongside poor diets and sedentary lifestyles, both of which increase your insulin and blood sugar levels. Which in turn raises your long-term risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and other related health conditions, such as; heart disease, stroke, dementia and even cancer.
Therefore it should be taken seriously.
However, the good news is that at this early stage, the condition is reversible by making relatively simple changes to your lifestyle. Hence, you should see this as an important ‘wake-up’ call to take action now, rather than waiting for chronic diseases to develop.
In short, pre-diabetes is not Type 2 Diabetes and does not mean you will develop diabetes. It does however mean you should take some positive actions as soon as possible, if you want to improve your health.
Key Ways to Reduce Your Risk: Keep it SIMPLE.
Stop Smoking – Smoking is proven to be an independent risk factor for diabetes, and the other chronic diseases; heart disease, strokes, dementia and cancer
Increase Activity – You don’t need to join a gym or start running marathons, just become more active and maintain/increase the strength of your muscles. This should be something that makes you breathe faster or raises your heart beat. E.g Brisk walking and Press-ups.
Maintain a Healthy Weight/Waist – Being overweight places increased pressure not only on your joints but also your metabolism and insulin’s ability to control blood sugar levels. Aim for a waist size at least 1/2 your height e.g 6ft (72 inches) waist should be below 36 inches.
Purpose – It can take several attempts to make lifestyle changes, so don’t be put off if you don’t at first succeed. Focus on your purpose, be persistent and stay consistent and you will reap long term health benefits.
Lower your Stress levels by getting good quality sleep and periods of relaxation.
Eat Healthily – Reduce the amount of processed foods and carbohydrates (sugars) in your diet. Aim to be a fat burner rather than a sugar burner. A good diet should supply you with the energy you need to be active and the high quality building blocks for a healthy body.
Remember: Rubbish In equals Rubbish Out!
This is taking the sensible, preventative approach to healthcare, rather than waiting to put out damaging expensive fires!