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Are You On The Verge of Being a Diabetic?

By Lucy Peacock
Jun 5, 2009
Would you know if you were on the verge of being a diabetic? Has anyone in the medical profession ever cautioned you about becoming a diabetic? Were you ever warned to use caution because you were at high risk for developing the disease?

Do you even know what it means to hear "you are at high risk to develop diabetes?" Have you ever heard the terms pre-diabetic or metabolic syndrome? Have you ever been given an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)?

Pre-diabetic means you are headed straight for diabetes. This condition means you have high blood sugar levels, but not high enough to be labeled diabetes, yet. Some 15% to 18% of the American population is in the pre-diabetic stage of type 2 diabetes. The majority of those in this stage are unaware of the fact they are on the verge of type 2 diabetes. No one has even told them they are in a high risk group for the disease.

You should know the risk factors of developing diabetes and if you are in that group, you should be tested for diabetes as soon as possible. You need to know if you are pre-diabetic because at this stage of the disease you can stop the progression to full blown type 2 diabetes.

The risk factors are (1) a family history of the disease (2) being overweight (3) if you are physically inactive (4) over the age of 45 and especially if over the age of 65 (5) certain races such as African American, Hispanic, American Latino, American Indian, Native Alaskan, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.

If two or three of these factors apply to you, then you are high risk for the disease and you should go to the doctor and be tested. There are a couple of tests the doctor can run to verify if you have it or not. One is the fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) and the other is the glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

If you are found to be pre-diabetic, then there are a couple of things you can do to lower your risks. First of all, if you are overweight, then lose it. Secondly, if you are physically inactive, then start moving. Quit being a couch potato and get up and start your body moving. Run or walk, but quit your sitting!

Start a low fat, low calorie diet and a program of exercises. It has been proven that the two together can keep you from falling headlong right into type 2 diabetes. Believe me if you can stop that happening you should! People have lost their legs, arms and life to the complications of diabetes! Do not let that happen to you.

It is in your hands and only you can change the outcome! You can have lots of money and worldly goods, but if you do not have health, you have nothing.

Fight this disease with diet and exercise. Do not become part of the 24% to 25% of Americans who are diabetic! Do not let yourself become a statistic!

Get up! Get off that couch! Start eating right! And Exercise!
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