When your health care provider makes a medical diagnosis, your next steps are usually about how to treat the condition. If you’re diagnosed with prediabetes, you can begin reversing the condition with lifestyle changes.
Diabetes is familiar to most of us, but it’s possible you’ve never encountered prediabetes. The condition is exactly what it sounds like: the “pre” part means you’re approaching a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis.
Having prediabetes means that your blood sugar, also called glucose, is higher than normal. However, it is not yet at the level that indicates Type 2 diabetes. You are diagnosed with prediabetes if your fasting glucose is between 100 and 125 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). Diabetes is diagnosed when your blood sugar level is 126 mg/dL or higher.
You can have higher-than-normal blood sugar when your body has a problem using or producing insulin. Insulin is a hormone made by your pancreas to help your body turn sugar from what you eat and drink into energy. When the body doesn’t have enough insulin, your blood sugar levels rise.
If you’re diagnosed with prediabetes, it doesn’t necessarily mean you will develop Type 2 diabetes—but it does mean you’re much more likely to do so. Prediabetes also increases your risk for other serious health conditions, such as heart disease and stroke.
Consider a prediabetes diagnosis a caution flag. Seize the opportunity to make changes to the way you’re living—potentially reversing prediabetes and preventing Type 2 diabetes.
What to Do After a Prediabetes Diagnosis
You might be on the road to developing Type 2 diabetes in the future but remember that you’re in the driver’s seat.
Talk with your medical provider about your overall health, including your blood sugar levels and other conditions that may place you at a higher risk of developing diabetes. Your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes increases if you:
- Are Black, Latinx, Native American, Alaska Native, Asian or of Pacific Islander descent
- Are age 45 or older
- Are overweight or obese
- Are physically inactive
- Had gestational diabetes during pregnancy
- Have a parent or sibling with Type 2 diabetes
- Have given birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds
You may also be at risk if you have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Understanding your overall risk can help you get a clearer picture of your health and the importance of making lifestyle changes. Your medical provider may recommend working with a team of diabetes specialists, who can help you take steps to improve your health and avoid diabetes.
Even if you’re working on your own, you can make lifestyle changes that will lower your blood sugar to a healthy range and improve your overall health.
Steps for Reversing Prediabetes
Reversing prediabetes is vitally important for your long-term health since diabetes can damage your entire body, affecting everything from your nerves to your heart.
While you can lower your blood sugar to a normal range, making healthy lifestyle habits part of your routine can help you reverse prediabetes within months. Changing lifestyle habits can dramatically lower blood sugar right away, but your A1C may take up to three months to change. Maintaining those healthy habits can keep you in a normal blood sugar range in the long run.
Here’s how to get started:
Eat a healthy diet.
While you want to limit your overall sugar intake, you want to take a more holistic view of everything you consume. Fill your plate with vegetables and fruits, lean sources of protein such as chicken and fish, whole grains, and low- or nonfat dairy products. Whenever possible, choose whole foods and meals prepared at home instead of processed or takeout meals, which often contain unhealthy additives, such as sodium. Carefully review nutrition labels, looking out for added sugar, sodium and saturated fat.
Drink lots of water.
Staying hydrated is good for your overall health, and it can help you keep your blood sugar level in a normal range. When you don’t have enough water in your body, your blood sugar levels may increase. Choose water and other unsweetened drinks, such as tea, instead of juices, sodas and other sugary beverages. Sugary drinks have been linked with an increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Bored with plain water? Add herbs, cucumber and sliced fruit for extra flavor without calories.
Move your body.
For optimal health, aim for at least 150 minutes each week of moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming and dancing. Any exercise you get is better than none, but the more you move your body, the better off you’ll be. People who get around 2.5 hours of moderate physical activity per week have a lower risk of developing diabetes than those who get less exercise.
Aim for a healthy weight.
Adopting a regular exercise routine and improving your diet may help you lose weight. Even a small amount of weight loss can make a big difference when it comes to reversing prediabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, losing as little as 5 to 7% of your total body weight can help. For someone who weighs 175 pounds, for example, that would mean losing around 9 pounds.
Don’t smoke.
What does smoking have to do with diabetes? A lot, actually. People who smoke are up to 40% more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who don’t smoke. That’s because the chemicals from cigarettes cause inflammation in your body, which may damage your ability to use insulin properly. If you smoke, talk with your medical provider about a smoking cessation strategy that will work best for your needs.
Get enough quality sleep.
Most adults need between seven and nine hours of quality sleep each night for optimal health. For people with prediabetes, getting a good night’s sleep takes on even greater importance. Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes you to stop breathing while sleeping. The condition is linked to insulin resistance, in which the body doesn’t respond well to insulin and can’t process glucose. If you routinely have difficulties sleeping or find yourself sleepy often even after a full night of rest, talk with your medical provider about whether a sleep study may be a good step for you.
More to Read
- Pancreatic Cancer and New-Onset Diabetes
- Diabetes Management as You Get Older
- The Connection Between Diabetes and Mental Health
- Diabetes and Hypertension
Hear more in our Live Greater podcast series.
Medically reviewed by Angela Ginn-Meadow, RN, RDN, CDE, Senior Education Coordinator at University of Maryland Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology at the University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus.
