Prediabetes is a "pre-diagnosis of diabetes or in other words, a warning sign. Its when your blood glucose level is higher than normal but its not high enough to be considered as diabetes.
Pre-diabetes is often called a "silent" condition because it usually has no symptoms. You can have pre-diabetes for several years without knowing it. Certain risk factors increase the chance that you have pre-diabetes. Being overweight, being 45 years or older, a family history of diabetes, low levels of high density lipoprotein(HDL), cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, history of gestational diabetes, being African-American, American Indian, Asian-American, Pacific Islander.
The same blood sugar test for diabetes is also used for prediabetes and as well as the process for the test such as fasting blood glucose test, an oral glucose tolerance test, and hemoglobin A1C(HbA1C) blood test.
In a fasting glucose test, blood sugar levels are measured after at least eight hours of not eating. Most people prefer to have the test done the morning after fasting overnight.
In the oral glucose tolerance test, blood sugar levels are first measured after an overnight fast. You then drink a sugary solution, and two hours later another blood sample is drawn. This second test is known as a "glucose challenge."
A hemoglobin A1C blood test can be done at any time during the day. It does not require fasting. The result reflects an average of your blood sugar over the preceding 3 months.
It surprises many people to learn that they may be able to prevent pre-diabetes and diabetes. To reduce the risk of both you should maintain an ideal body weight. Exercise regularly with both aerobic and strengthening exercises can reduce blood sugar and lastly, eat a balance diet.
It is best to do an annual glucose test to monitor pre-diabetes and also there are symptoms that can suggest the development of new diabetes like excessive urination, thirst and hunger, unexplained weight loss, increase susceptibility to infections and confused thinking, weakness or nausea.
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