People like to predict things - and sometimes they are uncannily accurate. In 1909, Nikola Tesla, former right-hand man of Thomas Edison, told The New York Times: "It will soon be possible to transmit wireless messages all over the world so simply that any individual can carry and operate his own apparatus."
The new predictions about your health risks from prediabetes are just as visionary. A study presented at the American College of Cardiology's 70th Annual Scientific Session looked at the health outcomes for more than 25,000 people ages 18 to 104 and found that serious cardiovascular events, including heart attack and stroke, occurred in 18% of people with prediabetes compared with 11% of people with normal blood sugar levels. "Based on our data, having prediabetes nearly doubled the chance of a major adverse cardiovascular event," says Dr. Adrian Michel, lead author of the study. "Instead of preventing diabetes, we need to shift focus and prevent prediabetes."
There are four steps you can take that will help prevent prediabetes - or if you've been diagnosed, help you reverse it or at least reduce the added risks.
1. Adopt a plant-based diet, eating five to nine servings a day of fruits, vegetables and grains, and animal protein from fatty fish like salmon and skinless poultry.
2. Ditch added sugars, syrups and ultraprocessed foods.
3. Move a lot - 10,000 steps a day or the equivalent; do regular strength-building exercises.
4. Manage your stress response (and blood sugar) by getting good-quality sleep and use stress-reduction techniques like meditation.
Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of "The Dr. Oz Show," and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer Emeritus at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into "The Dr. Oz Show" or visit sharecare.com.
(c)2021 Michael Roizen, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D.
King Features Syndicate