Pre diabetes

di1428

I was diagnosed with pre diabetes about a month and a half ago . Since then I have lost around 12 pounds and I've been exercising and taking my glucose readings . My question is do you believe that pre diebetes can be cured by losing weight , eating right and exercise ? I read a lot online . There are many doctors who believe that most people who are diagnosed pre diabetic will become full blown diabetic in 2-4 years . I want to do everything I can to get healthy . I don't want to ever be diagnosed full blown type 2 .

i too was told i was pre-diabetes and everything my dr said and what i read that it
is reversable...
changed my eating and followed the south beach plan as my dr suggested as its a low
sugar plan and lost over 40lbs but better yet all my blood work is now normal and not in
the pre-diabetic stage.
so absolutely diet and excercise can change your outcome and make you healthy!

saxmaniac

the link I provided and the people in it would disagree. I have a friend with Type 1 diabetes who is almost completely off his meds after going mostly raw vegan. Should we believe mainstream health-science on this? I mean what do they have to gain finding a cure? Same thing with cancer... Money is in the treatment...

Your friend was misdiagnosed. If a type 1 goes off insulin, they will die. He probably is a type 2 who was on insulin, and thought that insulin means type 1.

CyberEd312

Can diabetes be cured by losing weight, eating right and exercise?

No, it is a progressive disease, but you can control your glucose levels and prevent complications from high glucose levels. In addition, you can slow the progression of your diabetes by diet, weight, exercise, and medication.

My diabetes is controlled, but all I need to do is consume a “normal ” (for a non diabetic) amount of carbohydrates in any form, and my glucose spikes way up.

the link I provided and the people in it would disagree. I have a friend with Type 1 diabetes who is almost completely off his meds after going mostly raw vegan. Should we believe mainstream health-science on this? I mean what do they have to gain finding a cure? Same thing with cancer... Money is in the treatment...

I am a Type 2 diabetic (diagnosed in 2009) and to my knowledge and anyone can link some peer review studies here, but there is No Cure for diabetes, period.. Atleast not of yet... Once a diabetic, always a diabetic. Now that being said the progression of the disease CAN be slowed and in some people reversed to the effect that they no longer have to take meds and can control it with diet and exercise. But make no mistake until a cure comes, even doing everything right there is still the chance later in life that the disease moves beyond your approach to control it and destroys the rest of the receptors you have left and then the person is left with no other choice but to go on insulin to regulate their blood sugars. I started out at 560 lbs. with A1c at 10.0 (full blown type 2 diabetic) my Endo Dr.'s exact words was lose the weight, lose the Diabetes (meaning if the weight comes off I can reverse the affects of my diabetes, but not cure it.) 311 lbs. lost and 42 months later, I have normal A1c of 5.3 average and am off all meds accept Metformin (which my doctor believes is a preventative to protect what receptors I have left.) OP I can attest to the fact that most definitely by exercising and eating right and maintaining this lifestyle you can reverse the effects (are you at greater risk than someone not pre-diabetic, most definitely) but use this news as a wake up call to take control of your life and start moving down that healthy path.... Best of Luck to you.....

hdjjones

Yes, you can turn this around with weight loss and excersice

tlacox1

I have a friend who was diagnosed full blown diabetes. A few years later he lost almost 200 pounds and now his sugar levels read like he doesn't even have diabetes anymore. He doesn't even have to take medications now so yes, I truly believe that you can.

BrawlerBella

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes 4 years ago. After birth it did not go away as predicted. Since then I have been maintainting my Type 2 Diabetes & HBP on track without medication! My lifestyle change was the key element. I lost both parents way to early to this disease. I thank God everyday for placing the proper people in my life to beat Diabetes!!

Live_To_Kayak

Here's the thing... there are plenty of people at a normal weight that have T2 diabetes and plenty of obese people who do not have and never will have it so being overweight does not actually cause it.

I'm not sure that you know what you are talking about at all. Try to read some peer reviewed science rather than random opinions on the internet . Type 2 diabetes is very closely related to weight.

I read that people can appear skinny on the outside but can have a tendency to collect fat around their internal organs that can lead to diabetes.

kbanzhaf

The diagnosis of pre-diabetes is what prompted my weight loss beginning six years ago. Since I lost the weight, all of my blood sugar tests have been normal. I continue to watch what I eat, and walk as often as I can. I have gained back some of what I initially lost, but I remain at a very healthy weight for my age and activity level.
SO...to answer your question, yes, weight loss and watching your diet can help you prevent full-blown diabetes.
Kaye

Melampus

Diabetes is the inability of the Pancreas to generate enough Insulin.

Not according to Diabetes UK. From their website:

Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.

It goes on to mention insufficient insulin (type one) or insulin resistance (type 2) as the reasons why the glucose level would be high but, because the mechanism is so different for type 1 and type 2 it is worth being clear about what would apply to one, the other or both.

Insulin resistance caused by being overweight puts strain on the Pancreas...

Regarding the strain on the pancreas the reading I have done suggests that the high glucose level only appears, and thus causes type 2 diabetes to be diagnosed, when the extent of insulin resistance is such that the pancreas can no longer compensate by increasing insulin production.

In that respect it is a bit like going gradually deaf and turning up the volume on the TV to compensate and only going to the hearing clinic when the volume control on the TV is now at a maximum and you still can't hear what is being said. There is nothing wrong with the TV, only with your hearing.

This also means that there can be many people with some degree of insulin resistance who have not (yet) reached that critical point. For those people insulin levels would be expected to be high (rather than sugar levels) but otherwise there may be no symptoms.

Regarding the link between being overweight and insulin resistance, whether or not the latter has yet led to type 2 diabetes, I think everyone agrees the two often go together and there must be a reason for that. I am not as sure as you are, though, that being overweight directly causes insulin resistance. What would be the mechanism by which being overweight would cause insulin resistance.

Why would the muscles of an overweight person be less likely to respond to insulin by using glucose for energy than someone of healthy weight, all other things being equal? The muscles of an idle person would be less likely to use the glucose because they have less need of energy than those of an active person and an idle person is more likely to be overweight so that would be a common cause rather than cause and effect.

What about the other route for the glucose to be removed from the blood - conversion in the liver to either glycogen or fatty acids. Why would an overweight persons liver be less effective at doing that? I am not saying it won't be, just that I don't know by what mechanism.

The other theory I have seen proposed is that the resistance is simply due to the tissues that respond to insulin being exposed to high levels for much of the time such that they become desensitised. This would be typical in a person who eats many more calories than he uses with many of those coming from carbohydrates. That would mean the mechanism for controlling blood sugar is always working in one direction - removing the excess and storing it so insulin levels will be high and the excess calories will be being converted into fat. If you accept this theory it would also be a case of a common cause for the insulin resistance and the being overweight.

If you believe the theory above this means if you suspect you may have insulin resistance and are at the same time overweight you must either take more exercise or eat fewer calories in the form of carbohydrates, whether as part of a balanced reduction in calories across all macronutrients or by tackling them disproportionally or, preferentially, a combination of both (exercise and diet).

And if you don't believe that theory you should still be matching calories used to calories consumed by diet, exercise or the combination of the two to reduce excess weight.

dchrismer

I was diagnosed a type 2 in 2002. I exercised and diet and it went away till 2009. I went back to my old ways and it came back stronger. My work is using a computor all day, no exercise I am now taking meds but am decreasing them as I lose weight. About 50 lbs so far and another 70 lbs to go. You are doing the right thing, just don't ever stop. I have some friends that are pre-diabetes and are doing quite well by controlling their diet and activity. Good luck, you can do it! Feel free to add me as a friend if you like.

djshari

Here's the thing... there are plenty of people at a normal weight that have T2 diabetes and plenty of obese people who do not have and never will have it so being overweight does not actually cause it.

I'm not sure that you know what you are talking about at all. Try to read some peer reviewed science rather than random opinions on the internet . Type 2 diabetes is very closely related to weight.

I didn't say it wasn't, I said it wasn't the cause. It doesn't appear you actually read what I wrote so maybe you should do some actual reading yourself. Thanks!

Otherwise everyone else posted a lot of great info that backs up everything else I've read so far about exercise and lowering resistance, etc.