Your blood glucose levels are controlled in part by the pancreatic hormone insulin, which signals to muscle fat and liver cells that they should pull glucose out of the blood. A poor response to insulin can cause blood glucose levels to rise, which can lead to prediabetes. Prediabetes can be controlled by making changes to your diet.
What Is Prediabetes?
Prediabetes is a condition in which your blood glucose levels are chronically high but not high enough to be termed diabetes. If you have prediabetes, you have approximately an 11 percent chance of developing full-fledged type 2 diabetes each year because your body is already not responding well to insulin. Prediabetes can be diagnosed based on your fasting blood glucose levels and the oral glucose tolerance test, a blood test which measures how your body responds to sugars in your diet.
Diet and Prediabetes
A combination of diet and exercise can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent, according to the American Diabetes Association. The dietary guidelines for treating prediabetes are essentially the same as those for type 2 diabetes. An eating plan for prediabetes is not a tightly regimented and restrictive diet. Rather, it is a set of guidelines and goals that will help you improve your blood glucose levels.
Weight Loss
Many people who have prediabetes are overweight, as increased body fat makes the body less responsive to insulin. One of the key parts of this is controlling portion size, as eating too much contributes to weight gain. You will also need to limit the amount of fat you eat, as fat adds a lot of calories to foods. This entails eating fewer fried foods, reducing the amount of butter you use in cooking, choosing leaner cuts of meat and eating more "meatless" meals.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are also important if you have prediabetes, as the amount of carbohydrates you eat has a direct effect on your blood glucose levels. You should get between 45 and 65 percent of your calories from carbohydrates. The types of carbohydrates you eat are equally important. Getting your carbohydrates from foods such as fruits, legumes, vegetables, whole grains and dairy products will help you control your blood glucose levels and will provide important vitamins and minerals.
