Diabetes occurs when the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that aids in the transport and use of carbohydrates, like simple sugar and starch, to generate energy, which is needed for daily life. Pre-diabetes is when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. This can be due to a lower insulin level than what your body requires. It can also put you at greater risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke.<\/p>\n
Understanding diabetes and its risk factors may help you prevent it, as well as control it if you have the disease. Here\u2019s what to know:<\/p>\n
Diabetes risk factors<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Being overweight\u00a0or obese<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Having a family history of diabetes<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Leading a sedentary lifestyle<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Having high blood pressure<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Having high cholesterol<\/p>\n Lowering diabetes risk<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Make healthy, low-fat food choices; eat more fruits and veggies.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Be active. Walk or do something active for 30 minutes each day.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0If you smoke, stop smoking.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0If you are overweight, try to\u00a0lose weight.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Avoid alcohol. Alcohol can increase blood sugar and blood pressure.<\/p>\n Preventing diabetes complications<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Control high blood pressure<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Control high cholesterol<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Get A1c levels checked<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Have an annual eye exam<\/p>\n Diabetes Testing and Care<\/strong> <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Diabetes occurs when the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that aids in the transport and use of carbohydrates, like simple sugar and starch, to generate energy, which is needed for daily life. Pre-diabetes is when your blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medicare"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MED4012_0320_EOB_Insert_April_2020_TO_PRINT-1.jpg?fit=985%2C736&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6ZZGa-2GV","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10349"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10354,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10349\/revisions\/10354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIf you have any of the above risk factors or questions about diabetes, talk to your primary care provider (PCP). A blood test can be done that measures your glucose levels, which can tell if you have diabetes or pre-diabetes. If you have diabetes, you and your PCP can work together to help manage your disease.<\/p>\n