I meet people who tell me they are “just” pre-diabetic. They aren’t too worried because they’ll “just” start pills or insulin shots to manage things when they “get” diabetes. They don’t understand they are missing their opportunity for crisis management.
Diabetes is diagnosed when the blood sugar hemoglobin A1C is 6.5 or greater. “Pre-Diabetes” is when the hemoglobin A1C range is between 5.6 – 6.5. Scan your blood work for that number. By the time you are diagnosed with diabetes half of your pancreas has already been destroyed.
Pre-Diabetes is like having a “Pre-House Fire”. You don’t wait to call the fire department until your whole house is on fire, you call the fire department at the first hint of flames in any room. The best time to act is always when you start to smell smoke, not when the flames have already consumed half of the house.
What exactly is Diabetes? Simply put, diabetes is carbohydrate (sugars and starches) poisoning. Much of the disease can be prevented or reversed through diet and lifestyle changes that help to reduce blood sugar levels.
But dietary steps are just the beginning and much more needs to be done to turn your health around. You must stop the underlying metabolic inflammation that is driving the disease.
A series of events ignites inflammation which triggers diabetes. Events we now know can be reversed. One cause is over-nutrition, which is consuming more calories/energy than your body needs regardless of your weight. Another cause is an intestinal bacterial overgrowth that may cause symptoms such as food intolerance, diarrhea, constipation, eczema, rosacea and anxiety.
A third major cause is autonomic nervous system damage due to physical trauma (concussions), emotional trauma, sedentary lifestyles, or an imbalance of dietary omega 3/omega 6 fatty acids. Add all these potential triggers to aging, genetics, periodontal disease, or tobacco use and you’ve got yourself a house fire.
If you are “Pre-Diabetic” this is the time to act because progressing to full-blown Diabetes is not inevitable. Do not wait until your lab tests hit the threshold numbers to take control of your health, and don’t gamble on pills or insulin shots after the fact.
Letting your health deteriorate any further only puts you that much closer to developing heart disease, hypertension, blindness strokes, kidney failure, amputation, and Alzheimer’s (sometimes referred to as Diabetes Type III).
With proper coaching and education everyone can work to prevent, control, or repair this disease. It is never too early for prevention, and it is never too late for improvement.
© 2014. Dr. Patrick Nemechek. All Rights Reserved.
