A Prediabetic Plan Includes a Heart-Healthy Diet
If you’ve been diagnosed with prediabetes, there’s good news. With the right steps, you can keep your condition from turning into Type 2 diabetes. You can also reduce your risk for heart disease at the same time. It all starts with a prediabetes diet plan.
Take three minutes to learn the connection between heart disease and prediabetes and how your diet affects both.
Linking Prediabetes and Heart Disease
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 98 million Americans live with prediabetes. Most don’t know it. With prediabetes, your blood sugar levels are high, but not high enough to be Type 2 diabetes. When not addressed, people with prediabetes often develop diabetes. Prediabetes also increases your risk of heart disease, including heart attack. This occurs when long-term high blood sugar damages blood vessels leading to your heart muscle. Prediabetes and cardiovascular disease also share several risk factors, including:
- Age. As you get older, your risk for one or both conditions increases.
- Family. Having a family history of either disease puts you at higher risk.
- Metabolic syndrome. A group of conditions, including having a large waist, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high levels of triglycerides and low levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol, metabolic syndrome makes you more likely to have prediabetes. It is also linked to an increased risk of heart disease.
- Sedentary lifestyle. A lack of physical activity is common among those diagnosed with prediabetes and heart disease.
- Weight. Being overweight or obese makes you more likely to have heart disease, prediabetes and many other conditions.
Reduced Risk With a Prediabetic Diet
While there is no foolproof way to prevent prediabetes or improve your heart health, a prediabetic diet is a good start.
Foods That Help Your Cause
When choosing foods, aim for variety. Your prediabetic diet should consist mainly of the following:
- Lean proteins
- Low-fat dairy
- Vegetables
- Whole grains
Limit These in Your Prediabetic Diet
It’s okay to include a moderate amount of fruit in a prediabetic diet. Just be careful. Fruit contains natural sugars, and some prepackaged fruits include added sugars, which can increase your blood sugar levels.
Other foods that increase your blood sugar and put your heart in harm’s way include:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Foods high in sodium
- French fries and other foods with saturated fats
- Soda, energy drinks and other beverages containing added sugar
- Sweet treats, including cookies, cake and ice cream
- White bread, rice and pasta and other refined carbohydrates
Limit your intake of these foods to protect your heart and lower the chance that prediabetes becomes diabetes.
Making the Most of Your Diet
Along with eating the right foods, look for ways to increase your physical activity. Play kickball with your family, go to the gym or take a run around the neighborhood. Any amount of exercise is an important part of your diabetes care plan. However, try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise every week. More movement helps with weight loss. It also leads to improved overall health, lower blood sugar levels and reduced risk for heart disease.
Want help turning back the clock on diabetes with a proper prediabetic diet? Visit the team at the Union Hospital Diabetes Education Center and Outpatient Nutrition or call 812.238.7577.