Pre-diabetes / Borderline diabetes/ Impaired glucose tolerance
If you have pre- diabetes, you are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and also are at increased risk of developing heart disease. Pre-diabetes or borderline diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as full-blown diabetes. Those with borderline diabetes are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but the risk of diabetes can be greatly reduced by adopting a healthier lifestyle that includes weight loss and more physical activity.
Pre diabetes may also be referred to as impaired fasting glucose or impaired glucose tolerance
What should you do if you have pre-diabetes?
What Should I Eat?
It’s not so much “what” you should eat, but how much. If you are overweight, your first and foremost goal should be to lose weight. This means working with a dietitian to determine the quantity and type of food you should eat at each meal. One of the key issues in losing weight is controlling portion size. Your dietitian will also direct you how to make food choices that cut down on the amount of fat you eat because each gram of fat has significantly more calories in it than a gram of carbohydrate or protein. This means:
• eating more foods that are broiled and fewer foods that are fried.
• cutting back on the amount of butter you use in cooking.
• eating fish and chicken more, and only lean cuts of beef.
• eating more meatless meals, or re-orienting your meals so that your dinner plate has more vegetables, fruit and starches on it, and less meat.
Your dietitian will show you how you can continue to eat all the foods you love — just probably not in the same proportions as you have in the past. Having diabetes or having “pre-diabetes” does not mean that you can’t eat certain foods. The solution isn’t “avoid foods with sugar in them.” Rather, you need to lose weight if you are overweight, cut back on portion sizes, and plan for those occasions when you eat a small piece of cake or pie.
Physical Activity
Along with weight loss, your need to to begin, continue or increase a program of physical activity, if you aren’t already getting regular exercise. Physical activity will help you use the insulin that your body produces more effectively. This will help keep your blood glucose lower.