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Many Americans Have Pre-Diabetes
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
September 14 2002 | 2,003 views

The good news is diet and exercise can help eliminate the insulin-resistance syndrome, and a few simple tests can tell doctors and patients who is at risk.

What happens when to a person with insulin-resistance syndrome?

In insulin resistance syndrome a person loses her ability to manage insulin effectively. The syndrome, if not treated with lifestyle changes, can develop into:

  • Heart disease
  • Non-alcoholic fatty liver
  • Possibly some cancers, such as colon or ovarian cancer

How is insulin-resistance syndrome diagnosed?

Measurements of weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose tolerance can determine if a person is at risk for the syndrome..

How do you reverse the syndrome?

Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise will put most people on the road to reversing the syndrome.

American Association of Clinical Endorcrinologists August 25-6, 2002



Dr. Mercola's Comments:
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While it's encouraging to see traditional medical groups begin to appreciate the importance of insulin resistance, they're totally missing the boat. Many, many more people struggle with this problem than they think - the percentage of Americans with this syndrome is closer to ¾ of our population.

How do you know if you might have pre-diabetes syndrome without a blood test?

You are at risk for this syndrome if you have these symptoms:

  • Increased weight
  • High blood pressure
  • High blood cholesterol

Blood tests are also useful:

  • A fasting blood sugar level test is the simplest and least expensive. One used to have a blood sugar level greater than 140 to be diagnosed with diabetes. That has now been reduced to 126. Anyone with a level between 110 and 125 is considered pre-diabetic. Earlier this year however, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation announced they use a fasting blood sugar of 90 mg/dl or higher as a biomarker of coronary heart disease risk.

What is the ideal blood sugar? Your blood sugar levels should always be below 90.

  • Use your HDL percentage as a guide. Just divide your HDL level by your cholesterol. That percentage should be above 24%. You can also do the same thing with your triglycerides and HDL ratio. That percentage should be below 2.

However while cholesterol levels are typically related to insulin resistance, there are clearly a certain segment of individuals who have a strong overriding component to their cholesterol levels that is unrelated to insulin issues.

Related Articles:

Insulin and Its Metabolic Effects

Insulin Resistance Increases Heart Disease Risk

Total Cholesterol Almost Always Irrelevant to Heart Disease Risk

Triglycerides May Predict Heart Risk






 
 
 
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