You watch your weight. You have a class pass to hit up all the hot studios. You limit you tex-mex intake and eat lots of fruits and veggies. You’d never be at risk for prediabetes, right?
Wrong. Womp, womp! According to a new study published in the July/August issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, nearly one in five healthy-weight Americans have prediabetes. One in five!
How is this possible?! Researchers pulled info from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1988-1994 (please feel free to sing some Mariah Carey as you read on). Researchers also pulled data from 1999-2012 and compared the two.
What did they find? 1988-1994 survey: 10.2% of folks in a healthy weight range (BMI between 18.5-24.9) had prediabetes while in the 1999-2012 survey, 18.5% of folks had prediabetes. The other scary find, as you age, the likelihood of prediabetes rose. EEK!
A size 2 or a healthy BMI does not necessarily mean you are healthy. Just as diabetes or prediabetes does not mean you are overweight or obese.
What can you do? I recommend that everyone follows a diabetic diet, regardless if you have diabetes, prediabetes or not. It addresses serving sizes and educates folks on macronutrients (carbs, protein and fat). The best thing you can do for your blood sugar is pair a complex carbohydrate with a lean protein at every meal and snack. Here are some ideas (complex carbs listed first followed by lean protein):
- whole wheat toast with 1 Tbsp nut butter
- whole wheat crackers with 1 ounce cheese (like string cheese)
- brown rice with 3 ounces of salmon
- baked potato with 3 ounces grilled chicken
- fresh fruit with 1 ounce of nut butter or cheese
- 1 cup whole wheat pasta with 3 ounces of lean meat
- whole wheat bread with tuna or chicken salad
The possibilities are endless! You want to avoid the obviously pitfalls like just pizza or just pasta or just a salad.
Move more, watch what goes in your mouth, and don’t forget you annual wellness visit with your primary care physician!