Re: Pre Diabetes
As a ‘newbie’ finding my way round this site I found this thread to which I can contribute as I too have been on the NHS Pre-diabetes programme, fortunately with a positive outcome.
In May 2017 I made 47 on the pre-diabetes scale and was advised I need to do something now as Type 2 diabetes can be prevented and even reversed with the right information and change of lifestyle.
Finding out all about food and how our bodies process and use it was quite an eye-opener, not that I had ever eaten a lot of junk food or that which was not good for me but far too much in quantity and also of ‘the wrong kind’.
Sugar added to my food I stopped, all cakes, biscuits, sausage rolls and pastries also were no longer part of my food intake. Intake of vegetables and fruit was increased and porridge for breakfast was for me a ‘must’.
What I also found were some apps. for mobile phones that scanned the barcodes on products and then gave a readout of how much salt, sugar and fat was contained. Apps. like ‘Food Scanner’ is free and along with another called ‘Sugar Smart’ also free I found a real help. These allowed me to learn how much sugar manufacturers are adding to our foods, mostly without us realising. A breakfast cereal for instance that I had eaten for years was suddenly off the menu as it contained 29 teaspoons of sugar but it was by name a healthy product! Fruit juices were the same, full of sugar. Another app. called ‘Smart Recipes’ helps those like myself who have no idea about cooking.
To cut a long story short, the next blood test showed a figure of 42, down from the original 47 plus I had also managed to lose weight. That is another thing I did not realise, just a half-hour walk each day with eating healthier food is probably all that’s needed to keep weight off. At the end of the programme my blood test figure was down to 38 and 10kg weight loss too. Also this had a positive effect on cholesterol levels which were back to as they should be. Losing some weight I felt healthier and also no more knee problems.
Finally though that important figure went up to 41 and I couldn’t understand why as all that had stopped was that I couldn’t walk quite as much during the last really cold winter, the cold affects my breathing after a heart attack ten years’ ago. That showed how important some exercise is along with changes to diet. Also I was advised that something like stress can affect blood sugar levels, something I was not aware of. A very good website for all things diabetic is shown below, in particular relating to stress this shows how this works in increasing blood sugar levels.
https://www.diabetes.co.uk/stress-an...se-levels.html
I’ve been fortunate in putting off Type 2 diabetes by taking the medical advice given. Anyone advised of the NHS Pre-diabetes Programme should consider trying it, it’s totally free, very informative and I believe well worth trying.