| Written by Bob Livingston A colleague of mine was so afraid she would have blood sugar problems, because they ran in her family, that she went to a doctor who prescribed her a blood sugar medication.Even so, she had an episode where she had blood sugar readings in the low 30s to 40s, went into a coma, and was lucky to wake up. She was never diagnosed with diabetes. Subclinical blood sugar problems make people even more scared today because of the novel coronavirus. It has an affinity for attacking those with sugar issues and underlying conditions surrounding metabolic syndrome. What my colleague had was prediabetes, an insidious and sneaky condition. Many people who have it would never know it. Prediabetes is a recent word to describe a condition where a person’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough for a “diagnosis.” As you can imagine, people with prediabetes run a much higher risk of developing full-blown diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control say 15-30 percent of people with prediabetes will worsen into Type 2 diabetes within five years. Of course, these mainstream outlets never add that this is true until and unless you actually do something to reverse the situation. They want you to think you have to just wait until you’re diabetic and then take their treatment for life. But there are things you can do to reverse the condition without resorting to doctoring or falling into the downward spiral of the medical establishment. I’ll tell you about them in a moment. But first, are you at risk? Well, estimates are that around 90 million Americans over age 20 have prediabetes. So almost one out of three are already prediabetic, yet almost no one knows they have the condition because there usually are no real symptoms — or they are so subtle they are not recognized as signs of a serious medical condition. So I want to give you a few risk factors that could make you more vulnerable to prediabetes and indicators that suggest it may already be present even if you feel perfectly fine. True, prediabetes typically doesn’t make its presence known with noticeable symptoms, there are some hints you can watch for that should warn you to get it checked out. There may be other causes for these conditions, but they raise a red flag. You should have your blood sugar tested if you have any of these conditions that are often wrongly associated with other illnesses: Blurry vision — Maybe you just need new glasses, but if the blurriness comes and goes it could be caused by spikes and dips in your blood sugar. Excessive thirst — The body reacts to excess sugar by trying to flush it out through urine, which drains water from your body and causes dehydration. Frequent urination — Related to the same process that causes excessive thirst. Your body is trying to get rid of surplus sugar. Extreme fatigue — Your body uses sugar for fuel, but prediabetes causes insulin resistance, reducing the efficiency of converting glucose in your blood into energy. Sleep impairment, chronic insomnia — Having one bad night is not the same as tossing and turning every night. If you routinely get less than six hours of sleep a night, it may be a sign of prediabetes. Researchers believe this may be by interactions of hormones and the nervous system. Sudden unexplained weight loss — If the body doesn’t get energy from blood glucose, it starts burning other fuel supplies, resulting in weight loss even if you aren’t dieting and don’t work out regularly. Darkened areas of the skin — Dark, thick patches, called acanthosis nigricans that show up in skin creases and folds on the neck, in the armpits, inside the elbows, behind the knees, and on knuckles may be evidence that elevated levels of insulin are speeding up skin cell reproduction. If you have any of these, or if you suspect you have a problem, the only way to find out for sure is to have a blood test. If a test reveals high blood sugar, you do not need expensive treatments. The main things you can do to combat these warning signs are: get Omega-3 fats from krill oil; take up to 5,000 IUs of vitamin D3 daily (those with higher vitamin D have better insulin sensitivity and are less likely to have prediabetes or severe SARS-COV-2); eat as much fresh raw vegetables daily as you can (research has shown that if one-half of your diet is raw, the probability of no diabetes is very high); maintain ideal body weight; boil, poach or steam your foods (never fry or charbroil).Also, and this is something not well-known among doctors either, you should take cinnamon daily, as it balances blood sugar naturally. Clinical trials have shown us that taking a cinnamon extract supplement may help keep blood sugar in the normal range. It does so by greatly boosting the body’s antioxidant capabilities to help fight metabolic syndrome. Yes, while cinnamon is that deliciously sweet, warm spice that’s often used in both baked goods and savory dishes, getting the right cinnamon has significant blood sugar benefits, too. Please go here if you want to learn two of the best-documented characteristics of cinnamon. You can “drink” cinnamon, too. The Mexican cinnamon bark called organic Ceylon is known to be the most potent for making tea. I purchase it in cut pieces, and I add a few pieces to my hot tea and let it steep. |
