Can I Reverse Prediabetes?

For most of us, our A1C numbers rise because we’re consuming too many simple carbohydrates, such as pasta, bread, sugary breakfast cereals and processed foods. Instead of these foods, consider following a Mediterranean diet which emphasizes whole grains, fish and vegetables.

In terms of exercise, you don’t have to join a gym or run a marathon. Just get moving. A modest amount of exercise for 15 minutes, three to five days a week, is a good way to begin — and walking is a great choice. If you’re overweight, the combination of exercise and altering your diet can help you drop pounds and lower your chance of developing diabetes. If you smoke, quitting will help as well. The more cigarettes you smoke, the higher your risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

If someone is thinking, I’m prediabetic, not diabetic, so I don’t really have to worry about it, that’s not entirely true. When a person spends a lot of time in that prediabetic window, and their numbers are gradually going up, they are putting their cardiac health in danger.

High blood sugar levels can damage or inflame blood vessels, which increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, vision loss, peripheral vascular disease and heart failure. Those who have prolonged high blood sugar levels also have a higher risk of osteoarthritis. After adjusting for other possible factors, if someone has prediabetes, they’re 25 percent more likely to have a heart attack sometime down the road.

Let’s say you’ve worked on eating better and increasing your exercise routine, but maybe not enough, or it just hasn’t worked. Rather than wait for more serious issues to develop, your doctor might recommend medication. Metformin is the usual choice. It’s the No. 1 drug recommended by the American Diabetes Association for lowering blood glucose levels, and evidence shows that people who take this drug may reduce their risk of developing cancer, heart disease and even dementia. Metformin is also associated with weight loss in some people.

Most importantly, don’t be discouraged by your A1C score. It’s certainly not inevitable that you’ll get diabetes. Now that you know where you stand, you can change direction and move toward lowering your blood sugar level — and that’s a sweet spot.