How to Reverse Prediabetes Naturally
Diabetes Alert Day is observed each year on the fourth Tuesday in March by the American Diabetes Association. It’s a day that focuses on alerting people to their risks of developing diabetes, including those who may already be prediabetic.
Those who have been diagnosed as prediabetic or who are experiencing symptoms of the condition can take action to change course and reduce their risk of developing diabetes. Take a look at these simple lifestyle changes that could help with how to reverse prediabetes naturally. As always, consult your doctor before you begin any new health routine to ensure it’s safe for you to do so and part of an agreed-upon course of treatment.
What Is Prediabetes?
You might’ve heard of Diabetes Alert Day, but what is prediabetes? Being labeled as prediabetic doesn’t necessarily mean you’re on the cusp of developing diabetes. Instead, prediabetes is described by the CDC as having higher-than-normal blood sugar levels, but not high enough to be fully diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Left unchecked, experts have said prediabetic individuals typically have a 50% chance of developing diabetes within the next 5 to 10 years.
Naturally, many people labeled as prediabetic want to learn how to reverse prediabetes permanently. While there’s no method to guarantee you’ll never be diagnosed with diabetes, following methods on how to reverse prediabetes naturally with simple lifestyle changes could keep you from being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and make a positive impact on your overall health and wellness.
How to Reverse Prediabetes: Lifestyle Tips
While there are some diabetes risk factors that cannot be controlled (like genetic predisposition), there are many simple lifestyle changes that may help with how to reverse prediabetes over time and prevent you from a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Even a small amount of progress from these changes is enough to make a noticeable reduction in your risk, and continued healthy habits could prevent such a diagnosis indefinitely.
Try out these lifestyle changes and experience the effects they have on how to reverse prediabetes naturally:
- Exercising regularly to stay active
- Try intermittent fasting
- Adopt a healthier diet avoiding processed foods
- Control high blood pressure
- Manage stress levels with self-care activities
- Get healthy sleep
Exercise Regularly
One of the easiest methods for how to reverse prediabetes naturally is by exercising regularly and staying active. Not only does exercise have a positive impact on your physical and mental well-being, it also lowers blood sugar naturally by increasing insulin sensitivity within your body. In fact, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has stated that exercise may reduce blood sugar for up to 24 hours post-workout, making consistent activity crucial as you learn how to reverse prediabetes.
Experts recommend you get at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week. This can be anything from taking a brisk walk to hitting the gym for a full workout routine. You don’t have to have gym equipment at home to get a good workout there, either. Activities like yoga, jogging, or even chair exercises from the comfort of your living room are just as effective. The goal is to elevate your heart rate and get your blood flowing.
Try Intermittent Fasting
Another approach to how to reverse diabetes naturally is trying intermittent fasting (IF). This approach to eating is when you limit your food intake to only certain times of the day. While there are different types of intermittent fasting, the central theme is that you’re alternating periods of eating and fasting each day to affect how your body processes food.
In a recent study where prediabetic men were divided into two groups — one practicing intermittent fasting and the other not — the IF group was found to have remarkable improvements in insulin sensitivity and blood pressure after five weeks. IF may also help with how to reverse prediabetes naturally by helping some maintain a healthy weight.
Consult your doctor before beginning any form of intermittent fasting lifestyle for guidance and assurance that it’s a safe option for you.
Adopt a Healthier Diet
Whether or not you opt to practice intermittent fasting as part of your efforts for how to reverse prediabetes naturally, choosing a healthier diet is important. What we eat can have a major impact on our overall health.
A prediabetic diet should be a “clean” diet that avoids processed foods as much as possible. It also means limiting red meat, or eliminating it altogether. Instead, consider a diet filled with lean proteins, fruits with complex carbohydrates, whole grains, leafy greens, and healthy fats such as those from fish and avocados.
You should also do your best to avoid excessive calories and foods with added sugar. A favorite of many choosing a healthy diet as they learn how to reverse prediabetes is raspberries. These fruits are sweet without added sugar, nutritious, and a good source of fiber.
Control High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure affects nearly 1 in 3 adults in the United States and is one of the contributing factors associated with being prediabetic. As you’re learning how to reverse prediabetes, be sure to monitor your blood pressure and keep it under control.
For those who have experienced elevated levels, there are a variety of natural ways to reduce blood pressure you can try. Fortunately, many of these efforts overlap with methods for how to reverse prediabetes naturally, as well. Exercise, reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption, giving up smoking, and managing stress levels are all effective ways to help control your blood pressure.
Another method many people have turned to is using a zero gravity chair. The plethora of potential health benefits of zero gravity chairs include lowering blood pressure as it improves circulation. The reclining zero gravity position design elevates the legs above the heart level and distributes body weight evenly. This positioning takes pressure off the lower back and stimulates better blood flow, which lowers blood pressure and enhances how the body heals itself.
Manage Stress With Self-Care Activities
Stress is something we experience in our daily lives that is simply unavoidable. What we can do, however, is learn how to manage stress levels through self-care activities. Activities like meditation, yoga, and journaling have all been shown to reduce stress levels. You can also take the time to create morning or evening routines to take a little time for yourself and do whatever makes you happy.
Some people learning how to reverse prediabetes have sought ways to combine multiple methods. A great opportunity for this is with zero gravity meditation. Meditating at home from the comfort of your zero gravity chair combines the mental and physical healing potential of your chair and meditative practices to manage stress, improve blood pressure, and boost your overall wellness.
Get Healthy Sleep
Last, but not least, as we look at how to reverse prediabetes naturally is getting healthy sleep. Common sleep disorders like sleep apnea pose an increased risk to prediabetic individuals benign diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This is because sleep apnea may cause elevated blood pressure and other health ailments.
Learning how to treat sleep apnea and other common sleep disorders is crucial to help with reversing prediabetes and leading a healthier life. A popular method, once more, is sleeping in a zero gravity chair. The zero gravity position not only positively impacts blood pressure and circulation, but keeps the user in a sleeping position that keeps the airways open. This promotes healthier sleep and is a small lifestyle change that could yield a huge impact.
You should also ensure you’re getting enough restorative sleep. Restorative sleep is considered to be the second half of the 4-step sleep cycle your body goes through several times each night. Getting more restorative sleep is beneficial for increased creativity, better memory, muscle repair, and could help with how to reverse prediabetes naturally.
Prediabetes does not necessarily mean you will be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, but shows you’re on a path that may lead to it. Even though some variables like genetics cannot be altered, making simple lifestyle changes can have a huge impact towards changing course. If you’re prediabetic, consult your doctor on how to reverse prediabetes naturally and see which of the changes in our guide may work best for you.
Zero gravity chairs have many applications beyond how to reverse prediabetes and are perfect for people of all ages. To learn more and determine which is best for you, compare zero gravity recliner models and see what each one provides.
