Answer:
A fasting blood glucose less than 100 is normal. 100-120 is called "impaired fasting
glucose", or pre-diabetes. A person with a fasting blood sugar over 120,
or a non-fasting blood sugar over 200, is diabetic.
Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) should be seen as a wake-up call. It is not a foregone conclusion that one with IFG will get diabetes, however, as diabetes is a progressive illness, one is likely to develop diabetes over time if lifestyle changes are not made.
Primary risk factors for developing diabetes are family history, which one cannot control, and obesity. While not everyone with IFG is obese, most Americans could stand to eat better and lose some weight. With or without weight loss, exercise is key for bringing down blood sugar. Ideally, we would all exercise one hour every day. While that is impractical for most of us, we all need to be exercising more than we are. Someone with IFG should familiarize him or herself with a diabetic diet. Though not diabetic, it is still important to know which foods will elevate blood sugar, like carbohydrates, and limit those foods.
None of this is news. Everyone knows that we should eat well and exercise, but implementing it takes a lot of discipline, especially in our culture of excess and sedentary living. Changes to diet must be sustainable, in other words not extreme, if they are to last a lifetime.
Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) should be seen as a wake-up call. It is not a foregone conclusion that one with IFG will get diabetes, however, as diabetes is a progressive illness, one is likely to develop diabetes over time if lifestyle changes are not made.
Primary risk factors for developing diabetes are family history, which one cannot control, and obesity. While not everyone with IFG is obese, most Americans could stand to eat better and lose some weight. With or without weight loss, exercise is key for bringing down blood sugar. Ideally, we would all exercise one hour every day. While that is impractical for most of us, we all need to be exercising more than we are. Someone with IFG should familiarize him or herself with a diabetic diet. Though not diabetic, it is still important to know which foods will elevate blood sugar, like carbohydrates, and limit those foods.
None of this is news. Everyone knows that we should eat well and exercise, but implementing it takes a lot of discipline, especially in our culture of excess and sedentary living. Changes to diet must be sustainable, in other words not extreme, if they are to last a lifetime.