Pre diabetes treatment

Diabetes and Pre Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is a condition characterized by high levels of blood sugar. Diabetes patients have problem with insulin in their body. The problem might be that the human organism doesn’t produce enough insulin or it doesn’t respond to insulin. In both cases lack of insulin causes the increase of glucose (blood sugar). Diabetics suffer from several common symptoms, including increased hunger and thirst and frequent urination.

There are three types of diabetes: diabetes type 1 is an autoimmune disorder which is caused by the lack of produced insulin. Diabetes type 2 is caused by resistance to insulin present in the body. Diabetes mellitus type 3 is diabetes characteristic for pregnant women, and, it’s called gestational diabetes.

Pre diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance is also a medical condition in which patients experience heightened blood sugar levels. The only difference is that their blood sugar levels aren’t as high as in diabetes. If left untreated for couple of years it may progress to diabetes mellitus type 2 and because of that this is a condition that must be treated.

Pre Diabetes Risk

Some people are at higher risk than other to develop pre diabetes. If you have a family member who has diabetes, there are high chances that you would also suffer from the same medical problem. People who lead a sedentary lifestyle or whose body mass index is over 25 (overweight people) often have pre diabetes, especially if they are over 40 years of age. Women having problems with polycystic ovary syndrome or with the history of gestational diabetes are at risk of developing pre diabetes. Sometimes, patients with low level of good, protective cholesterol (HDL) have heightened risk of developing the pre diabetes as well.

There are diagnostic tests for pre diabetes: FPG and OGTT test. Patients are advised to fast a night before the test in both cases. FPG or fasting plasma glucose test is the test used to measure level of glucose in the blood before the patient had anything to eat. Normal level of glucose is around 100mg/dl, but in pre diabetes patients it usually varies from 100 to125mg/dl.

OGTT is oral glucose tolerance test. It has two stages: the first stage is to measure the level of blood sugar after fasting for a whole night. After that, patients are given a high glucose liquid to drink, left for two hours and then tested for glucose level again.

Treatment for Pre Diabetes

Patients suffering from pre diabetes mellitus are advised to maintain a healthy weight. The studies have revealed that people who lost about 10% of their weight significantly decreased their risk of developing pre diabetes condition. Doctors recommend healthy diet and regular exercise, as the way to lower sugar levels. These patients should avoid the food rich in fat, and use more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low fat food in their menu.