According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 88 million Americans are suffering from prediabetes.

Many of them don’t realize they have it, or that they are at risk for developing a debilitating disease. 

But, for those who have prediabetes and catch it in time, there is some good news: you can prevent it from turning into full-blown Type 2 diabetes with specific lifestyle changes. 

What Is Prediabetes And How Do I Know If I Have It?

According to the CDC, having prediabetes means that the blood sugar levels in your body are high, but not high enough to qualify as type 2 diabetes.

You can easily find out what your glucose levels are by using diabetic test strips, which are available online or at your local pharmacy.

If you take multiple tests and discover that your blood sugar is on the spectrum for prediabetes, then it’s critical you start taking some serious preventative measures.

Not doing anything could result in you spending thousands of dollars throughout your lifetime to keep your diabetes under control with medication and insulin therapy.  

The 7 Best Natural Ways To Prevent Diabetes

Having prediabetes is scary, but the CDC says that most cases of type 2 diabetes are preventable. In this early stage, there are several natural methods you can use to prevent your health from spiraling downward. 

Below are the 7 best natural ways to prevent diabetes. 

Maintain A Healthy Weight

If you’re overweight, you’re at significant risk of developing diabetes. The reason is the more fat your body stores, the harder your body’s systems have to work to keep functioning.

Extra pounds can have a huge impact on your ability to process insulin. 

According to David Marrero of the American Diabetes Association, even losing as little as 7% of your body weight can decrease your risk of progressing to type 2 diabetes by over 50%.

Don’t underestimate the power that small actions have on improving your health. 

Remove Excess Sugar From Your Diet

Having type 2 diabetes means that your body is resistant to insulin, which is a hormone that helps blood sugar enter your cells.

One way that your body becomes insulin resistant is if you continuously overload it with sugar. If you’re in the prediabetes stage, doctors recommend you cut sugar out of your diet to give yourself a chance to heal. 

Stop Eating Fast Food

Fast food is chock full of ingredients that will raise your blood sugar.

They’re not limited to just sugar: many of those greasy and sweet foods we love contain white flour, corn syrup, and saturated fats.

Try to choose healthier restaurants or menu options, like salads and lettuce wraps. It doesn’t sound as tasty as a handful of French fries, but your sugar levels will thank you. 

Eat Fewer Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are sugar molecules that come in several different forms, including pure sugar, starch, and fiber.

Carbs can be extremely good for our bodies, but they can also spike our blood sugar. Fiber is the only type that doesn’t, so if you’re prediabetic, sources of this carb such as oats, apples, and pears are your friends.

On the other hand, you should try to avoid starches like white potatoes, bread, rice, and other grains. 

Engage In Regular Physical Activity

Regular physical activity provides the human body with so many benefits, that it’s impossible to list all of them here.

It should come as no surprise that it can also improve your prediabetes by causing some important, healthy side effects. 

Exercise gets your heart pumping, which brings life-giving oxygenated blood to all the parts of your body.

It helps you burn fat, decreasing your chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

Finally, it also helps your cells absorb glucose and increases your insulin sensitivity.

Don’t Smoke

If you smoke regularly, you are automatically 30%-40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

All the health problems that smoking causes - heart disease, lung disease, and even cancer - make living with diabetes even more difficult.

Additionally, smoking reduces your body’s sensitivity to insulin, which is why you are more likely to get diabetes if you smoke. 

For your overall health, it’s best to quit smoking as soon as possible. For resources on how to stop, visit the CDC’s “How to Quit Smoking” page. 

Don’t Drink Alcohol

Did you know that alcohol may spike your blood sugar? Some of them are extremely sugary or, like beer, contain carbohydrates.

It can also cause other side effects which may lead to your blood sugar level rising, like raising your blood pressure and increasing your appetite so that you overeat.

It’s best to avoid alcohol altogether, or at least drink it only in moderation. 

With these 7 practices, you can prevent your prediabetes from morphing into a disease that will force you to change your lifestyle anyway.

Anytime you get discouraged, remember that even a tiny change can cause huge positive impacts on your well-being. 

What Do I Do With My Unused Test Strips?

When you’ve successfully improved your health to the point you’re no longer prediabetic, you may be wondering what to do with all the unused test strips in your home test package.

Rather than throw them away, sell them back to us Diabetic Exchange USA so that we can pass them on to people in need. 

For questions and to learn how much you can get for your test strips, contact us here.