Even if you have never been diagnosed with diabetes, you may have a medical condition known as prediabetes, which is reaching epic proportions. While estimates vary, the American Diabetes Association reports that nearly 60 million people in the United States have prediabetes. Prediabetes is when a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis. If you are prediabetic, you have a substantially increased risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, kidney disease, blindness, nerve damage, and several other serious conditions. According to The Journal of the American Medical Association, if this pace continues, Americans born in the year 2000 will have a one in three chance of developing diabetes. The good news is that this trend can be reversed.
Lifestyle Lessons
Of course, the best way to reverse prediabetes is to lose weight, and the best way to lose weight is through a combination of diet and exercise. From a dietary standpoint, research continues to confirm that fiber is a significant treatment for prediabetes. In clinical studies, a proprietary blend of selected soluble fibers known as PolyGlycopleX (PGX) significantly lowered blood sugar levels after a meal. These fibers have also been shown to help individuals lose weight. A study featured in the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association demonstrated that children who ate more soluble fiber had fewer diabetes risk factors, including obesity.
Dietary modifications should be combined with consistent physical activity. The Diabetes Prevention Program study demonstrated that 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day combined with a reduction in body weight of just 5 to 10 percent, produced a 58 percent decrease in diabetes risk.
It has long been known that diet and exercise are powerful tools to reduce diabetes risk. But that’s just the beginning. You may not realize that being sleep deprived significantly increases diabetes risk. Enlightening research presented at the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences showed that just three nights of interrupted sleep gave people in their 20s the glucose metabolism of people three times there age. When it comes to a diabetes risk, researchers say that failing to get enough deep sleep is equivalent to gaining 20 to 30 pounds.
Also this year, researchers at the University of Chicago found that there is a direct correlation between sleep loss and weight gain. The bottom line: if you want to control blood sugar and lose weight, get enough sleep.
In today’s fast-paced society, it may be tempting to try to catch up on sleep over the weekend. This new research shows that if we are sleep deprived during the week the damage is already done by the time the weekend arrives. Be sure to sleep soundly for eight hours every night.
New Favorite Spice
People who are prediabetic should spice up their diet with more cinnamon or take a cinnamon supplement. Researchers concluded that cinnamon “can reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.” Several studies have shown that cinnamon can lower blood sugar levels.
Signs of Prediabetes
Four key factors indicate risk for prediabetes:
1.Being overweight or obese. If you have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, you are considered obese
2.A family history of diabetes, which includes parents and/or siblings with the disease.
3. High blood pressure
4. Being over the age of 45
Prediabetes can cause fatigue, fuzzy thinking, blurred vision, frequent infections, and/or increased appetite. Increased thirst and frequent urination are classic signs of type 2 diabetes.
Supplement Support for Prediabetes
The goal with prediabetes is to lower insulin levels. Insulin is a hormone that transports glucose. If we can improve the efficiency of insulin, we will burn more glucose for energy rather than storing it as a fat. Key supplements to accomplish this goal include the following:
*Alpha-Lipoic Acid. Most of the recent research with alpha-lipoic acid involves the reduction of diabetic complications such as nerve damage. Researchers from China demonstrated that alpha-lipoic acid could actually help prevent diabetes by reducing oxidative cellular damage. In addition, research shows that alpha-lipoic acid can help suppress appetite and assist with weight loss. The dosage of alpha-lipoic acid is between 100 and 200 mg three times daily.
*Chromium and Biotin. The connection between chromium supplementation and blood sugar control has been studied for years. The most recent research confirms that chromium picolinate and biotin (a B vitamin) provides the most effective combination. Yale University researchers published their placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial, clearly demonstrating that individuals with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes received significant benefits from chromium picolinate and biotin supplementation. The researchers also observed a reduction in cholesterol levels. Daily dosage for this combination is 600 mg chromium picolinate and 2 mg biotin.
Other natural substances that can help control blood sugar levels include green tea, silymarin, garlic, and Gymnema sylvestre.
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