2024-01-18 09:17:09
Diabetes is well known. This is less true for prediabetes. This is the precursor to diabetes and can still be stopped.
Your own health is every person’s greatest asset. What often only becomes clear when the body is afflicted by an illness. There are particularly insidious and deadly ones, such as cancer, which occurs in various forms. But also only temporary ones, like colds or the flu.
Diabetes mellitus, on the other hand, can become a constant companion. Type 2 is the most common type of diabetes, which can have serious consequences. It can appear in advance – in the form of prediabetes.
What this is about and what the diet should look like is explained here.
Prediabetes: what does it mean?
As the German Diabetes Aid informs, prediabetes is referred to as a precursor to type 2 diabetes. Even at this stage, the sugar metabolism is disturbed. Although there is no diabetes mellitus yet, the blood sugar levels are already abnormal.
A distinction is made between abnormal fasting glucose (also called Impaired Fasting Glucose or IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (also called Impaired Glucose Tolerance or IGT). The former applies to the fasting glucose range of 100 to 125 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl) or 5.6 to 6.9 millimoles per liter (mmol/l). These are measurements in the venous plasma, i.e. those that the doctor takes using the blood from the vein.
Impaired glucose tolerance occurs “when, under special stressful conditions (e.g. after a meal), a person’s blood sugar levels are elevated compared to a healthy comparison group.” In this case, these values in the oral glucose tolerance test after two hours are 140 to 199 mg/dl or 7.8 to 11 mmol/l. They apply to blood glucose measurements from venous plasma and capillary whole blood with fasting glucose values of more than 126 mg/dl.
Read about this too
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), people with elevated blood sugar levels, known as prediabetes, have an increased risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. According to this, one in five people between the ages of 18 and 79 has prediabetes.
Men in the upper and middle educational groups have a significantly higher prevalence of prediabetes compared to women. On the other hand, women in the lower education group are affected more often than in the others. Such a difference is not observed in men.
Dem AOK health magazine According to prediabetes, the likelihood of cardiovascular diseases is also increased. Insulin plays a crucial role – either the pancreas does not secrete enough of it or the cells become resistant to insulin, which is responsible for transporting glucose into the interior of the cell.
Insulin syringe in use: Diabetics must always be prepared.
Photo: Franziska Gabbert, dpa (symbolic image)
Prediabetes: What are the known symptoms?
The dilemma with prediabetes is that those affected, according to the AOK health magazine show no symptoms at all. Although deviations in blood sugar levels can be detected, they are not noticeable. In addition, there are no other signs that indicate prediabetes.
However, darkening of the skin in certain parts of the body can be an indication. Examples include the neck, armpits or groin area. Early diagnosis is important to prevent the development of type 2 diabetes.
Prediabetes: What are the risk factors?
Dem AOK health magazine According to the study, the number of undiagnosed cases of prediabetes is likely to be high. However, there are a number of risk factors that can promote it. These are:
- Type 2 diabetes in the immediate family environment, i.e. parents or siblings
- Overweight
- large waist circumference
- diet heavy on meat and/or sugar
- low physical activity
- Sleep apnea
- Smoke
- advanced age, i.e. over 45 years
In women, these risk factors also apply:
The following are typical characteristics of the transition from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes:
- increased thirst and frequent urination
- increased hunger
- frequent fatigue
- blurred vision
- Numbness or tingling in the feet or hands
- frequent inflammation and slow-healing wounds
- unintentional weight loss
Since prediabetes, unlike diabetes, is reversible, it is advisable to seek medical advice if some of the risk factors apply. This means countermeasures can be taken in good time.
Prediabetes: What can you do to prevent type 2 diabetes?
Like that AOK health magazine According to information, prediabetes, like type 2 diabetes, is usually caused by a combination of hereditary predisposition, lack of exercise and an unhealthy diet. This gives you the chance to take action yourself to take countermeasures.
According to a 2021 prediabetes lifestyle intervention study by the German Center for Diabetes Research, a healthier diet and more exercise are the most important parameters for preventing type 2 diabetes despite prediabetes. In addition, “the higher the risk of type 2 diabetes, the more extensive the lifestyle changes must be.”
Four recommendations are provided. In addition to quitting smoking and losing weight, you should exercise more and eat a balanced diet. A combination of endurance and strength training is considered useful because on the one hand it uses up a lot of energy and on the other hand it increases muscle mass.
When it comes to nutrition, you should pay attention to a mixed diet of carbohydrates, protein and fat, all three of which are vital for the body. In addition, the food should be high in fiber and sugary soft drinks should be avoided.
#diet