6 Simple Lifestyle Changes To Help Reverse Prediabetes
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Having a prediabetes means that your blood sugar or glucose levels are higher than they should be. This exerts you at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes as well as complications such as the heart attack and stroke. But a diagnosis of prediabetes also gives you the possibility of avoiding developing diabetes.
With a combination of lifestyle changes, you can stop and even reverse the prediabetes.
There is no single regime recommendation for prediabetes. But certain basic strategies on which to concentrate to reduce your blood sugar include:
- Reduce added sugar: Sugar is naturally found in many foods, including fruits and vegetables, but natural sugar does not turn your glucose like added sugar. These sugars are found in foods such as wrapped cookies, cereals and candies.
- Reduce refined carbohydrates: Your body transforms all carbohydrates into sugar, but not at the same speed. The whole and complex carbohydrates turn into sugar more slowly than refined carbohydrates, so that they will not increase your blood sugar as much. Eat more carbohydrates with non -statistical vegetables and whole grains (such as brown rice, beans and oats), and less carbohydrates from simple or refined sources, such as white pasta, white bread and snack crackers.
- Add lean and healthy fat proteins: When it is time to add proteins to your plate, choose lean options such as fish, chicken, eggs and low fat yogurt instead of transformed meats. Opt for food fats such as avocados, nuts, seeds and fatty fish, while limiting saturated and trans fats.
- Exchange water in sugary drinks: People who regularly drink soda and juice are more likely to have a prediabreaker or diabetes than people who do not. Drinking more water keeps you hydrated without excessive sugar or calories. If you miss the flavor, try to add fruit to your water.
Obtaining regular physical activity increases Insulin sensitivityOr to what extent your body uses a hormone called insulin to absorb glucose and transform it into energy. A high sensitivity to insulin helps your body maintain healthy blood sugar and reduces your type 2 diabetes risk.
The standard recommendation is to obtain a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise five days a weekor 150 minutes per week in total. Consider these tips to get more movement every day:
- Take your dog in your neighborhood after dinner.
- Turn on a video training session to do at home.
- Configure a mini treadmill or a walking cushion so that you can save steps while watching television or answer the emails.
- Walk while you talk to colleagues, family or friends on the phone.
- Do garden work like leaves or dig a garden.
- Ask your children to join you for a dancing evening in the living room.
- Play pickleball, basketball or another sport with a friend.
Losing even a small amount of excess body weight can have a positive impact on blood sugar, helping your body to better use insulin to maintain a more stable blood sugar level.
If your doctor approves weight loss as a healthy strategy for you, determine a goal. You can calculate how much 5 to 7% of your current body weight is – it is the minimum quantity of loss experts recommend seeing changes in blood sugar.
Sleep plays a big role in the way your body regulates hormones. This includes insulin: poor sleep has been demonstrated in studies reducing insulin sensitivity up to 30% after only four or five consecutive nights. Poor sleep understands not to sleep enough, wake up often during the night and sleep according to an irregular schedule.
Obstructive sleep apnea – A sleep disorder that causes frequent night awakenings, among other symptoms – is a known risk for type 2 diabetes. You may just as capable of developing type 2 diabetes if you have sleep apnea that you are with family history of diabetes.
If you have trouble resting, tell your doctor about means to improve your sleep.
A high level of stress, especially over time, can affect the way your body metabolizes glucose. This can make your body difficult to maintain a stable blood sugar level and ultimately reduce your sensitivity to insulin.
To better manage your stress, try to practice approaches such as:
- Deep and intentional breathing
- Mindfulness or meditation
- Yoga or tai chi
- Guided imaging or visualization
- Progressive muscle relaxation
Smoking is a risk factor for prediabetes – and avoiding smoke is an important step to take when you try to reverse your diagnosis. Most experts recommend a combination of mental health therapy or nicotine’s advice and replacement products as the best way to quit smoking. Try these tactics:
- Decide how you want to stop – little by little or at the same time.
- Talk to an advisor or a mental health professional of your smoking history and get help to identify the methods that can work for you.
- Ask your health care provider on nicotine replacement products such as over -the -counter or prescription fixes, gum or nasal sprays.
- Be ready for temporary withdrawal effects such as irritability and anxiety. Talk to your doctor advice to manage withdrawal.
In some cases, your health professional may recommend that you also take a prescription medication to help you regulate your glucose level.
A current drug for prediabetes is metformine. Metformin helps reduce the amount of glucose in your blood in several ways, in particular by reducing the amount of glucose that your liver makes and increasing your sensitivity to insulin. Studies suggest that metformin can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by approximately 31%.
Discuss the drugs that can increase your risk
Some drugs may change the way you metabolize glucose, resulting in an increase in blood sugar and increased risk of prediabetes and diabetes. Contact your doctor if you want to discuss alternatives to drugs such as:
- Corticosteroids
- Antipsychotic drugs
- Statins
- Beta-blockers
For people with prediabetes, doctors generally recommend having blood analyzes at least every two years to check your level of glucose and your A1C, an average of your blood sugar over two to three months.
However, you must contact your health care provider earlier if you have one of the following symptoms that may be signs of type 2 diabetes:
- Frequent urination
- Excess hunger or thirsty
- Fatigue
- Troubled vision
- Involuntary weight loss
- Numbness or tingling in your hands or feet
- Slow healing sections, wounds or bruises
Lifestyle changes can help you reverse the prediabetes and avoid a diabetes diabetes of type 2.
Try to reduce refined sugar and carbohydrates, get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week and try to lose at least 5% of your body weight if you have an additional weight to lose. You can support your efforts with good sleep, stress management and avoid smoking.
You can also talk to your doctor if he recommends medication such as metformin to support lifestyle approaches.



