Pre-Diabetes
You have been diagnosed with Pre-Diabetes
What does this mean?
Type 2 Diabetes is a condition where you have too much glucose in your blood.
As your blood travels to all parts of your body, this means all parts of your body can be affected by serious complications as you will see on the following pages.
Modern lifestyles are to blame.
We sit most of the day, in the car, at a desk and using social media.
We eat too much for the amount of exercise that we do.
We eat too many of the wrong types of food.
At this point you have the chance to prevent getting Diabetes by making lifestyle changes.
How can I change?
I know it is difficult to find time to do exercise when you are working, but you have to.
If you drive to work, park as far away as you can.
If you get the bus, get on and off at a stop further away.
Go for a walk at lunchtime.
Walk up and down the stairs, do not use a lift.
At the supermarket, park at the far end of the carpark, maybe walk around the car park once or twice before you go in.
The type of exercise that best burns the carbohydrates is 10 minutes brisk walk, this is better than 60 mins at a slower speed. You need to increase your heart rate.
You may be overweight, have arthritis or a breathing problem, just do 5-10 minutes as brisk as you can 3 times a day, gradually you will notice you can do it faster and further.
All the cells in you body contain Mitochondria, these are like little pistons in an engine, they burn the fuel. If you have been sedentary for some time these mitochondria go to sleep, hence the muscle loss, weight gain and lethargy. This is how the fuel(glucose) builds up in the blood stream.
It can take 6 weeks of increased physical activity for these mitochondria to start functioning again so don’t despair if you do not see much difference before then.
Changing what you eat!
There is a lot of dietary advice on the following pages. You need to reduce your glucose intake, this means reducing and changing your ‘Carbohydrates’. ie bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, cakes, biscuits, fizzy drinks and ALCOHOL. THERE ARE 6 DOUGHNUTS IN A BOTTLE OF WINE!
Other preventative factors
Smoking, High Blood pressure and Raised Cholesterol all contribute to Diabetes Complications.
SMOKING increases blood pressure and clogs the blood vessels causing a build-up of cholesterol.
Stopping smoking can help improve these things.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE can be reduced by increasing physical activity and reducing Cholesterol.
CHOLESTEROL can be reduced by increased physical activity and changing the types of fats you eat.
Further information on all these lifestyle changes can be found on the following pages.
You can get other information and support from your Practice Nurse.
Why would you want to commit to taking 20-30 tablets a day and feeling tired and lethargic all the time, when you can change your lifestyle and feel so much better!!
STOP and THINK and ACT now BEFORE you become another DIABETIC!
Page updated: 11 July, 2023