Dr. Brandy Victory, Nederland. Pre-diabetes is a condition where the body cannot efficiently metabolize foods, especially carbohydrates, resulting in impaired blood sugar control which may progress to diabetes when not properly treated or addressed through lifestyle changes. The great thing is that simple lifestyle changes have the potential to turn it all around for you.

Studies have shown that most people diagnosed with pre-diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, unless they change their lifestyle. Other risk factors of pre-diabetes are heart disease and stroke, both of which are on the rise. New statistics predict that 45 percent of US citizens will have at least one issue related to heart disease by 2035.

Although obesity and type 2 diabetes drive the rise, the real underlying culprits are moving less, stressing more, chronic inflammation and the impact of your environment and inflammation on your genetics.

What can you do? Take time daily to recharge. Take a walk, a 15 minute meditation, or just close your eyes in your car before going into your next appointment. You will be amazed at how taking a few minutes here and there can add up to you feeling so much more relaxed.

Get away from your desk every hour. Do a few crunches or lunges, stretch, or jump rope and get your blood moving throughout the day. If you can, get a standing desk so you have the option while working.

Go out in nature. Watch the sun rise and set, feel the sun on your face. Breathe fresh air. Turn off WIFI. Put your feet in the dirt.

Eliminate inflammatory thoughts, as your thoughts control your body.

Being “inflamed” emotionally plays a huge role on your health. All thoughts change how the body is functioning, and either your thoughts are taking you towards wellness or away from it. You get to decide how you feel!

Eliminate inflammatory foods. pretty much anything white. I recently have moved to eating a whole foods diet and avoiding any processed foods.

It has been an interesting change and feels so much better! I was actually surprised at how much of the food I was eating was processed. Even though I was choosing “organic” and healthy options they were still processed and played a role in joint pain, headaches, fatigue and irritability.

Have your biomarkers tested. Micronutrients, lipoprotein A, lipoprotein B and other metabolic markers are vital to know if your genetically predisposed to these risks and to see exactly what deficiency states put you at greater risk. It’s unfortunate these specialized tests haven’t made it to the medical doctors, but you can typically get these from your Naturopath or Functional Medicine doctor. No longer is it enough to look simply at cholesterol levels. They tell you nothing about genetics or particle size, which determines whether or not “high cholesterol” is truly a problem.
It’s a shame that people so easily overlook warning signs like pre-diabetes, and presume it won’t turn into something worse, that is until 10 years later they are facing having their foot amputated and go blind because they stuck their head in the sand. If you know someone who has pre-diabetes give them this article and help them get a doctor or coach to hold them accountable. You might just save their life.

If you would like to get a discount on micronutrient and biomarker testing we are hosting a Blood Draw Day & Open House Tuesday, April 2nd 12pm - 6pm at Alpine Botanicals, Nederland, CO

Lab draws must pre-register: 303-619-7766.

(Always talk to you doctor before starting any lifestyle changes that may impact your health. This is for informational purposes only.)