Do you want to know what the key is to put a stop to type 2 diabetes? Well, the answer is recognizing the potential risk before it becomes a full-blown problem. According to Dr. Joseph Aloi, professor and section chief endocrinology and metabolism at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina says: “The phrase I like to use is prevention by detection.”
Roughly 86 million Americans are suffering from prediabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels are above normal, but not quite above the diabetic threshold, and that nine out of ten prediabetics are not even aware that they have it.
However, the good news is that the jump from prediabetes to full-blown type 2 diabetes can be prevented. A common blood test known as A1c can help to determine whether a person’s blood glucose levels are putting a person at risk of the disease.
Just losing a little weight or walking a half an hour a day can prove to be more effective than most medicines.
The test measures the percentage of glycoylated hemoglobin in the bloodstream and points to the person’s average blood glucose level over the previous three months.
Regarding who should be tested, various medical institutions and diabetes organizations offer varying recommendations but, generally, believe that you should get a blood glucose screening if you present any diabetes symptoms. Also, risk factors for type 2 diabetes include, being over the age of 40, being overweight or obese, not being physically active, a genetic history of the disease, high blood pressure, high levels of bad cholesterol, of being of African American, Hispanic, Native American or Hawaiian descent. But Dr. Aloi adds, “Almost everyone should be tested.”
Aloi said that he believes that it is his job is to make people make the right choices and to that they need to have the correct information. “And part of that is screening for prediabetes and diabetes.”
Should a person test positive for prediabetes, rest assured, there are options available to combat the disease. Changes in physical activity, losing weight and diabetes medicines can ensure that the disease does not become full blown. Just losing a little weight or walking a half an hour a day can prove to be more effective than most medicines. Often just cutting down on carbs and eliminating sugary soft drinks can be enough to stop the advancement of diabetes.
