Prediabetes is a condition in which your blood sugar levels are elevated but are not high enough to be considered diabetes. It's a serious condition, and many of the complications associated with diabetes, such as damage to your heart and circulatory system, are already happening at this borderline stage. Your goals are to lose some weight and ensure your eating habits don't spike your blood sugar at any one sitting.
Prediabetes Nutrition
Your eating plan with prediabetes should be guided by a registered dietitian, with the goal of helping you lose weight. According to the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), a clinical trial showed that dropping 5 to 10 percent of body weight produced a 58 percent decline in diabetes diagnoses in study participants. There is no such thing as a diabetic diet. With some careful planning, you can enjoy most of the foods you are accustomed to eating. The American Diabetes Association recommends that you eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, consume fat-free dairy, eat fish more often, drink water instead of soda or sugar-sweetened drinks, choose nonstarchy vegetables whenever possible and eat more whole grains and legumes.
Blood Sugar Control
A major goal of eating with diabetes and prediabetes is to ensure a stable level of blood sugar throughout the day. With your dietitian, you should determine how many grams of carbohydrates you can eat throughout the day. If you have not developed diabetes, you simply need to "spend" your carbs wisely over the course of a day. As an example of this carb counting, the Joslin Diabetes Center uses the example of man who has been told by a dietitian that he should eat 350 g of carbs per day and can eat up to 60 g of carbs at any particular meal. He can eat a brownie, a portion of rice, a cup of applesauce or any carb of choice. The point is to not eat 100 g of carbs at one meal, 10 at another and 240 at another. Instead, he should eat 60 g of carbs at five or six small meals.
Caution
People often go on to develop diabetes because they are overweight and have excess body fat and blood lipids like cholesterol and triglycerides. So keep in mind that your carbohydrates budget is going to be based on your total caloric and nutritional needs and your weight-loss goals. The American Diabetes Association says you should also keep sodium intake low, use less oil and butter and eat less at each meal. In addition, keep your portion sizes small, but eat more frequently to prevent yourself from getting hungry. Bake, broil and stir-fry your foods. Most important, don't do this alone. Stay in consultation with your health care provider about your eating.
Don't Forget to Move
Exercise is also an important part of cutting your risk of developing diabetes. In the NDEP trial, participants who lost weight and got 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily received the most benefit in terms of preventing or delaying diabetes.
References
- National Diabetes Education Program: Small Steps. Big Rewards. Your GAME PLAN to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes: Information for Patients
- Joslin Diabetes Center: The Truth about the So-Called "Diabetes Diet"
- "New England Journal of Medicine"; Reduction in the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes with Lifestyle Intervention or Metformin; Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group; February 7, 2002
- American Diabetes Association: Making Healthy Food Choices
- American Diabetes Association: How to Prevent Prediabetes
- National Diabetes Education Program: Get Real! You Don't Have to Knock Yourself Out to Prevent Diabetes
