Early signs that your metabolic health needs some TLC can be spotted in a blood test. The traditional biomarkers for diabetes are hemoglobin, A1C, fasting glucose and fasting insulin. A glucose challenge test may also be prescribed.
As far as how you feel, early signs that something’s amiss with your health include:
- Increased hunger and/or thirst
- Frequent urination
- Fatigue
- Blurred vision
- Slowed wound healing
- Unintended weight loss
- A pins-and-needles feeling in your hands or feet
- Frequent infections
That said, people with pre-diabetes often feel completely normal, so that annoying blood draw at your annual physical is a good call.
If you are diagnosed with pre-diabetes or diabetes, a low-carb diet may be a good option for staving off the progression of the disease or reversing it. Dr. Lucia isn’t a medical doctor, but she is an expert on low-carb nutrition. A low-carb diet is finally being endorsed by the American Diabetes Association as one of the first lines of therapy for diabetes.
By reducing the glucose sources, we can manage the problem our body has with the maintenance of normal glucose levels. At least for as long as we maintain our new, lower-sugar diet, of course.
