Do you know the warning signs of diabetes? What should you do if your doctor tells you your blood sugar levels are higher than normal?
Join Ashtabula County Medical Center Certified Diabetes Educator Lori Gilhousen, RN, for a special class on prediabetes. The class will be Saturday, November 16 from 9 to 11 a.m. at ACMC in The Ashtabula Clinic’s basement conference room.
Gilhousen will answer your questions and can help you develop lifestyle changes that will prevent or delay the onset of diabetes.
Prediabetes means that your blood sugar level is higher than normal, but not high enough to be called diabetes. When we eat, we absorb glucose (sugar) from the food, which goes into our bloodstream to be distributed as fuel for our cells. When there is too much glucose, it can cause future health problems such as diabetes, heart disease or stroke.
“The good news is you don’t have diabetes yet. The bad news is, there are no symptoms. You may be creeping toward diabetes and have no clue it is on the horizon,” Gilhousen said. “Not everyone who has these slightly higher blood sugar levels progress to diabetes, but you are at an increased risk.”
By making small changes to your lifestyle now, you can possibly avoid diabetes.
Those changes include eating a healthy diet, exercising, losing weight, and getting your blood sugar tested more frequently.
“Research shows that people who have pre-diabetes and lose weight plus exercise 30 minutes a day, can reduce the risk of going on to diabetes by almost 60%. If you do nothing, there is a 70% chance you will get diabetes in your lifetime,” Gilhousen said.
The prediabetes class is open to any adult, but the risk for prediabetes and diabetes increases as we grow older. To register for class, phone 440-994-7598 or email Diabetes@ACMChealth.org.
?