Reversing Pre-Diabetes: Can Diet And Exercise Help?

Studies have shown that rather than high-intensity physical workouts, persistent physical activity can maintain and manage blood sugar levels.

When a person might have higher than normal blood sugar but not high enough to be diagnosed as having diabetes, the experts identify this stage as prediabetes. They might have impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance. The condition is a warning sign that if the affected person doesn’t make any active changes in their lifestyle, there is a high risk that it can develop into diabetes. If left unmanaged, it can cause long-term damage to heart health. As per experts, prediabetes is a major risk factor for diabetes.

There are no fixed symptoms of pre-diabetes. However, people affected by it can experience frequent thirst, frequent urge to urinate, experience sugar spikes or fluctuating energy levels. While it is not a clinically independent term but involves symptoms that suggest slow progression to conditions like diabetes and increased cardiovascular risk.

Can it be reversed?

The possible causes of prediabetes are not very different from diabetes. It usually involves insulin resistance, when the cells stop responding to insulin, a hormone responsible for the regulation of glucose in the blood. Another cause could be increased metabolic disturbance. Though prediabetes can occur in anyone, a few factors can increase the risk like age, a body mass index (BMI) over 25, a waist size of more than 40 in males and 35 in females, consumption of high-calorie food products regularly, physical inactivity and history of other medical conditions like sleep apnea, gestational diabetes, PCOS, high blood pressure and others.

Sometimes it might take months or even years for people to understand if anything might be changing. Many would not have a wide range of symptoms. As per quoted experts, it is not uncommon for people having prediabetes to have fluctuations in their sugar levels.

As per quoted experts, intensive lifestyle changes like focusing on diet and weight loss can delay the onset of type 2 diabetes.

As per reports, a combination of a balanced diet, intake of low-glycemic foods, and regular physical activity can delay the onset of diabetes. Increasing muscle mass can also help with insulin resistance and can improve insulin sensitivity. This can also increase the metabolic rate and help maintain body weight.

Studies have shown that rather than high-intensity physical workouts, persistent physical activity can maintain and manage blood sugar levels. As per quoted experts, get up and walk every half an hour and do activities like squats. The idea as per experts is to stop getting into a sedentary lifestyle.

Velvety patches on skin can be a sign

While prediabetes has no set symptoms, some people can develop acanthosis nigricans, dark, thick and velvety patches of skin. This is a sign of insulin resistance and is mostly associated with Poly Cystic Syndrome (PCOS).