Blood glucose

Winnie53 said:

Bluetit1802, I have to go to work now. Will research this and try to find information to support my statement that pre-diabetes is a type of diabetes tonight. I'll then post what I find. I personally don't know anyone with pre-diabetes who is able to return to eating the traditional diet that non-diabetics with normal blood glucose levels enjoy, do you? Think about it.

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I agree. Pre-diabetics need to follow a suitable diet and lose weight if that is an issue in order to avoid full blown diabetes, just like non-diabetics should. It doesn't make them diabetic though.

I understand. Perhaps it would be better to state that pre-diabetes is on the diabetes spectrum. I should add that my doctor told me in the 1980's that I would be monitored for diabetes for the rest of my life because I now had a diagnosis of hypoglycemia, which she said, often leads to diabetes. And she was right. My hypoglycemia became gestational diabetes, then pre-diabetes, and now type 2 diabetes. And it's genetic, which means once we have it, we have to maintain a regimen of appropriate diet and exercise for the rest of our lives.

Tonight I'll share the story of how my mother avoided developing type 2 diabetes, unlike her mother who was obese, though physically active, and a type 2 diabetic.

I did a search on "Is pre-diabetes reversible?". I don't have an answer.

Here's what I learned...

Unless people with prediabetes change their lifestyle, most will have Type 2 diabetes within the next 10 years, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.19 Lifestyle changes such as weight loss (7% of body weight) and moderate physical activity (150 minutes per week) can reduce the risk of diabetes by as much as 58%.20 To prevent 1 case of diabetes during a 3-year period, 6.9 persons would have to participate in the lifestyle intervention program.16

Here's a link to the entire article... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4116271/

What's said about both pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes is that blood glucose levels need to be kept within the non-diabetic range to prevent complications, and that the goal should be to prevent or delay as long as possible the development of type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, I can't find any clear answer as to what percentage of those who have pre-diabetes now will eventually develop type 2 diabetes, which suggests to me that the answer is unknown.

I thought these two articles by Mark Hyman, M.D. who is now the Director of the Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic was interesting and worthy of reading and re-reading. Basically, whether we're pre-diabetic or type 2 diabetic, the methods to restore and preserve our good health are the same. Dr. Hyman states the two conditions are on a continuum, and I agree...

Are Diabetes and Insulin Resistance Reversible? The Facts.

5 Steps To Reverse Type 2 Diabetes and Insulin Resistance

I don't agree with everything he says, particularly about eating soy products, and I think most of us have difficulty with fruit, but I think he's a lot more right than wrong.

@Winnie53 I also agree with the diabetes continuum concept - it makes far more sense than if you're 6.0 you're normal and 6.1 you're prediabetic etc. I wish I'd known in the 1990's how important the prediabetes diagnosis was - if I'd made adjustments then, I may never have progressed to full blown type 2. I'm so glad we have the wealth of information now available on the internet and the tools to do our own research

Me too Indy. But we can change that for those pre-diabetics coming along now.

Winnie53 said:

Me too Indy. But we can change that for those pre-diabetics coming along now.

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Exactly so, thats how I learned, by what others posted on the forums. Its the only thing that gave me a glimmer of hope. My doctor didnt, she just offered me metformin 2x500 mg/day and a sailors farewell.