Prediabetes means you have blood glucose, or blood sugar, levels that are higher than normal but not high enough to be called diabetes. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. Too much glucose in your blood can damage your body over time. If you have prediabetes, you are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
Most people with prediabetes don’t have any symptoms. Your doctor can use an A1C test or another blood test to find out if your blood glucose levels are higher than normal. If you are 45 years old or older, your doctor may recommend that you be tested for prediabetes, especially if you are overweight. Losing weight – at least 5 to 10 percent of your starting weight – can prevent or delay diabetes or even reverse prediabetes. That’s 10 to 20 pounds for someone who weighs 200 pounds. You can lose weight by cutting down on the amount of calories and fat you eat and being physically active at least 30 minutes a day. Being physically active makes your body’s insulin work better. Your doctor may also prescribe medicine to help control the amount of glucose in your blood.
Symptoms of Prediabetes:
Prediabetes usually doesn’t cause any symptoms. The only way to know you have it is if your blood sugar levels are
What does HbA1c mean?
HbA1c is what’s known as glycated haemoglobin. This is something that’s made when the glucose (sugar) in your body sticks to your red blood cells. Your body can’t use the sugar properly, so more of it sticks to your blood cells and builds up in your blood. Red blood cells are active for around 2-3 months, which is why the reading is taken quarterly.
Too much sugar in the blood damages your blood vessels. This damage can lead to serious problems in parts of your body like your eyes and feet.
What is HbA1c?
HbA1c is your average blood glucose (sugar) levels for the last two to three months.
A high HbA1c means you have too much sugar in your blood. This means you’re more likely to develop diabetes complications, like serious problems with your eyes and feet.
Knowing your HbA1c level and what you can do to lower it will help you reduce your risk of devastating complications. This means getting your HbA1c checked regularly.
You’re entitled to get this test at least once a year. But if your HbA1c is high or needs a little more attention, it’ll be done every three to six months. Don’t skip it.
Once you know your HbA1c
The most common and confusing factors related to blood sugar levels is the normal, prediabetic and diabetic values. The fasting blood sugar/glucose levels are said to be normal if it is below 100mg/dl. Fasting blood sugar levels greater than 126mg/dl refers to Diabetes. Many people are confused regarding the values of the transitory phase. Between 101 to 125mg/dl it is known as impaired fasting glucose. Other than fasting blood sugar levels, Postprandial (after meal) sugar levels are also a key unit in monitoring blood glucose levels. If your postprandial blood sugar levels are less than 140mg/dl it is considered to be normal, if it is between 141 to 199mg/dl it indicates impaired glucose tolerance. Postprandial blood glucose levels more than 200mg/dl are a clear cut indication of Diabetes Mellitus. Now, both impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance are together known as Prediabetes. That is these values indicate the prediabetic stage. During Pregnancy, it is desirable for women to keep their fasting sugar levels between 60 – 90mg/dl and Post Prandial levels between 90-120 mg/dl.
Blood Sugar level monitoring –
Blood glucose/ blood sugar level monitoring is critical to guide insulin, medication and behavioural adjustments with regards to
Gestational Diabetes is high Blood Sugar that develops during pregnancy and usually disappears after giving birth. Diabetes in pregnancy includes pregnancy in both pre-existing Diabetes (pregestational diabetes) and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which is diagnosed in pregnancy. Both situations are associated with maternal and foetal complications if not treated adequately. GDM is a severe and neglected threat to maternal child health. Poor maternal glucose control during the first eight weeks of pregnancy with subsequent hyperglycaemias and lipid peroxidation can have severe implications for the foetus, including birth defects.
Causes of Gestational Diabetes –
During pregnancy, the placenta makes hormones that can lead to a buildup of glucose in your blood. Usually, your pancreas can make enough insulin to handle that. If not, your blood sugar levels will rise and can cause gestational diabetes.
• Were overweight before you got pregnant
• Are African-American, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American
• Have high blood sugar levels, but not high enough to be diabetes
• Have a family history of diabetes
• Have had gestational diabetes before
• Have high blood pressure or
Glucose isn’t something as bad as it termed as. You may wonder what makes us claim that. But what needs to be known is Glucose is necessary for the body to run and function efficiently. Glucose is the charger, energizer and fuel that the body uses to carry out various internal and external activities. When we eat food, be it anything from a humble Banana to an expensive Mango, Carbohydrate is omnipresent. Carbohydrate is a complex structure formed of too many Glucose molecules. When these carbohydrates enter the body, they are broken down into Glucose by the various enzymes present in the body. Extra Glucose molecules are converted into glycogen and stored in the liver for further energy requirements.
The Glucose enters the cells of the body to provide the energy required for basic functioning. But when we are not eating enough, glycogen is reconverted to Glucose to meet the energy and vitality requirements of the organs. The hormone ‘Insulin’ paves the way for Glucose to enter into the blood cells. When Insulin is not released enough, the Glucose cannot enter the body and thus the levels of Glucose is increased in the blood stream. This presence of high amounts of Glucose in the bloodstream and over a period in the urine gives rise to ‘Hyperglycemia’, the condition further leading to Diabetes.
Diabetes symptoms can be so mild that you don’t notice them. That’s especially true of type 2 diabetes. Some people don’t find out they have Diabetes until they suffer from long-term damage caused by the disease.
With type 1 diabetes, the symptoms usually happen quickly, in a matter of days or a few weeks. They’re much more severe, too
Common Symptoms
Common symptoms of Diabetes are mostly inflected due to the presence of high glucose levels in blood.
- Thirst, dry mouth
- Polyuria (frequent urination)
- Nocturia (frequent urination at night)
- Tiredness, Fatigue
- Recent Change in weight (weight loss)
- Blurring of vision
- Pruritus vulvae, balanitis (genital itching)
- Nausea, headache
- Hyperphagia(urge to eat more sweet food), predilection for sweet foods
- Mood change, irritability, difficulty in concentrating, apathy
Both types of diabetes have some of the same telltale warning signs.
- Hunger and fatigue – Your body converts the foo
What is Type 1 Diabetes?
Type 1 Diabetes also known as Juvenile Diabetes or insulin dependent Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. The utilization of Glucose for energy in the body is regulated by the hormone ‘Insulin. Insulin is secreted by specialized cells in the Pancreas. Different factors, including genetics and some viruses, may contribute to type 1 diabetes. Although type 1 diabetes usually appears during childhood or adolescence, it can develop in adults.
Despite active research, type 1 diabetes has no cure. Treatment focuses on managing blood sugar levels with insulin, diet and lifestyle to prevent complications. Diabetes is a global epidemic with debilitating and life-threatening complications in children and adolescents. Type 1 Diabetes is most common in young children and the main stay of treatment is insulin.
Causes of Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 is an autoimmune condition. An autoimmune condition is when your immune system, which normally keeps your body safe against disease, attacks itself instead. Other examples of autoimmune conditions include multiple scleros
Type 2 Diabetes is a massive public health problem. Type 2 Diabetes is a chronic condition that gradually develops over a period of time and prevails during an individual’s lifetime. Around 1.5 million adults are estimated to develop Type 2 Diabetes by the Disease control and prevention centers.
Diabetes has a unique impact on the lives of people and it accounts for a lifelong care. However, lack of information about Diabetes can mislead people and affect them in the management of this chronic disease. There’s nothing that one should be panicking about when being detected with diabetes because with proper diagnosis and management activities, it can be kept under control. There are two major types of Diabetes – Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, amongst which Type 2 is the most common form of Diabetes Mellitus. The utilization of Glucose for energy in the body is regulated by the hormone ‘Insulin. Insulin is secreted by specialized cells in the Pancreas. In type 2 Diabetes, due to the body’s inability to properly respond to Insulin, there is a high level of sugar(glucose) in the blood stream. This excessive amount of blood glucose make its way to urine and is spilled in the urine giving rise to glucosuria – presence of glucose in urine.
Symptoms of T
Diabetic Diet
Figuring out the best foods to eat when you have type 1 diabetes mellitus or type 2 diabetes mellitus can be tough. The main goal is to keep blood sugar levels well-controlled. However, it’s also important to eat foods that help prevent diabetes complications. Taking steps to prevent or control diabetes doesn’t mean living in deprivation; it means eating a tasty, balanced diet that will also boost your energy and improve your mood. You don’t have to give up sweets entirely or resign yourself to a lifetime of bland food. Here are the best choices and worst choices for diabetics.
Diabetes and Breads, Grains, and Other Starches
Your body needs carbs. But you should choose wisely. Use this list as a guide.
Best Choices
- Whole-grain flours and whole grains such as wheat,
India has one of the largest number of people with diabetes at around 72 million and these numbers are expected to increase to 134 million in the next 10-15 years. Thus, it is very important to know what exactly diabetes is, in detail. So today, Dr. Paresh Ved, renowned diabetologist, gives us the answers to a few Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about diabetes.
Q.1 What exactly is Diabetes?
Okay, so why does a car need fuel to run? The fuel provides the car with energy to run, right? But now imagine a situation wherein your car refuses to use that fuel.
That is exactly what happens to a person with diabetes mellitus. When a diabetic patient eats, his blood sugar levels increase, but due to the lack of insulin, the body refuses to deliver this blood sugar to your cells. This means that there is too much sugar floating around in your blood which can lead to major
Q.2 Is Diabetes curable/reversible?
No, Diabetes cannot be cured but it can definitely be controlle