The American Diabetes Association (ADA) (www.diabetes.org) provides extensive information about the warning signs of what is known as “Pre Diabetes.” Certain races are known to be more often predisposed to diabetes, such as African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. Prediabetes is when you have a high blood glucose level, but not to the level of type 2 diabetes.

High risk factors for pre diabetic symptoms include: being overweight and/or inactive (especially age 45 or older), high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol and high triglyceride levels, a family history of diabetes, or a history of gestational diabetes or birth to a baby over 9 pounds. There is also a common condition called polycystic ovary syndrome, which includes excess hair growth, obesity, and irregular menstrual periods, which may point to prediabetes. Another indication of prediabetes, that might show itself before any pre diabetic symptoms, is darkened areas of the …

What is a pre diabetic? Before people have type-2 diabetes, they usually have “pre-diabetes”. A pre diabetic has blood glucose levels that are high, but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes. Some studies have shown that long-term damage, such as damage to the heart or circulatory system may already be occurring in this early stage of diabetes.

Luckily, one study has shown that pre diabetic people have a chance to prevent type-2 diabetes from developing. This Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) study shows conclusively that a pre diabetic person can accomplish this feat just by making changes in their diet and being physically active for 30 minutes or more each day. In fact, the DPP study proved that 30 minutes of physical activity, coupled with a weight reduction of 5-10%, produces a 58% reduction in diabetes (Diabetes.org, 2011).

Pre Diabetic Nutrition

Pre diabetic diets should be portion …