Prediabetes: Management and Treatment

The best way to treat — and potentially reverse — prediabetes is through healthy lifestyle changes. Regularly eating nutritious foods and getting regular exercise can help return your blood sugar to healthy levels and prevent or delay Type 2 diabetes.

Even small changes can significantly lower your risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, like:

• Weight loss: Your healthcare provider will recommend trying to lose excess weight to combat insulin resistance and prediabetes. One study revealed that losing 7% of weight can reduce the onset of Type 2 diabetes by 58%.
• Regular activity: Getting regular amounts of moderate-intensity physical activity helps increase glucose usage and improve muscle insulin sensitivity. A single session of moderate-intensity exercise can increase glucose uptake from your blood and into your muscles by at least 40%. This helps lower blood sugar levels. Aim for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, for a total of 150 minutes a week. Try walking or another activity you enjoy. 
• Eating changes: Cutting out added sugars, swapping simple carbohydrates for complex carbohydrates and eating more veggies can help your blood sugar return to healthy levels. Your provider will help you find which long-term diet for prediabetes is best for you.Over the next three days I will break down these 3 changes individually starting with weight loss on Thursday 2/8!

Lowering your risk factors for prediabetes can often get your blood sugar levels back to healthy levels. You might:

• Work with a nutritionist or dietitian to plan healthy eating patterns you can stick with long-term, like the Mediterranean diet.
• Find ways to reduce or manage stress.
• Quit smoking.
• Get a diagnosis for and/or treat any sleep disorders.
• Manage related conditions, like high cholesterol and high blood pressure.
• Find support groups where you can meet other people going through the same challenges.

There are many programs available to help people live healthy lives and reverse prediabetes. To find a plan that works for you, talk to your provider or find resources through the National Diabetes Prevention Program. 

In some cases, your healthcare provider may recommend taking certain oral diabetes medications. This is more likely if lifestyle changes haven’t helped improve your blood sugar levels and/or you have multiple risk factors for Type 2 diabetes.

The most common medications providers prescribe for prediabetes are metformin and acarbose.

Join me tomorrow for a beginners workout! We can make positive strides together to fight prediabetes!