More than 86 million people in the United States - that's 1 out of every 3 adults - are prediabetic, yet 90 percent of them have no idea. If you don't know you have it you won’t be making the changes needed to ward off the full-blown disease.
“Prediabetes is when your blood sugar is above normal but not in the range that would be considered diabetes,” explains an endocrinologist. A normal blood sugar reading is less than 6 mmol/l; greater than 7 mmol/l is considered diabetes. If your 12-hours fasting blood sugar lands somewhere between those numbers, you’ve qualified for prediabetes.
The easiest way to determine if you have it is to get a simple blood test. A score of 5.9 mmol/l and below is considered normal. Anything between 5.7 and 6.4 mmol/l is considered prediabetes, and 6.4 mmol/l and above is full-blown diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association recommends that everyone age 45 and older get their blood sugar checked - unchecked prediabetes often turns into full-blown diabetes. But it can be hard to tell if you have this borderline condition, because it doesn't usually cause any symptoms. “There is no way to know you have prediabetes without a a blood test.”
However, there are certain patterns and changes that can serve to tip you off. Watch out for these sneaky signs, which could signal that you're headed for prediabetes - or that you already have it.
