Seniors and Borderline Diabetes 101

What Seniors Should Know About Borderline Diabetes

Borderline diabetes is a medical condition where a senior is on the threshold of becoming a type-2 diabetic. Prediabetes does not always develop into fully developed diabetes. Fortunately, there are a number of reasonable Vancouver Home Care tips your senior loved one can take to keep prediabetes from getting worse.

As we grow older, the chances of becoming a pre-diabetic increase. Therefore, seniors should be tested for this condition. According to experienced Home Care providers, people with prediabetes should be tested for type-2 diabetes every couple of years.

The Difference Between Pre-Diabetes, Type-2 Diabetes and Type-1 Diabetes

Prediabetes is a condition where the glucose level in the blood is somewhat higher than it should be. A pre-diabetic senior does not take medication for this condition. However, changes in diet and activity level are highly recommended in an effort to keep pre-diabetes from getting worse and becoming type-2 diabetes.

Type-2 diabetics take oral medication in form of a pill. They, too, need to regulate their diet and stay active so that their condition does not worsen into type-1 diabetes.

Type-1 diabetics need daily insulin injections to regulate the glucose level in their bodies. They are taught how to test their own glucose levels during the day and to give themselves injections as directed by their doctor.

What Seniors Should Know about Borderline Diabetes

Be Tested

The first thing to know is that it is important to have your blood glucose level tested. There may be pre-diabetes symptoms but they can easily be mistaken for other conditions or shrugged off as being a normal part of growing older. Only a glucose test can give a definitive answer as to whether a person is a borderline diabetic or not.

If you have not been tested, or if you are not sure, give your doctor's office a call and ask him or her about it.

Eat Wisely

By the time we become seniors, we have heard a lot about healthy eating. Bbut what does healthy eating mean to a pre-diabetic?

A pre-diabetic diet is one that does not flood the body with sugar or large amounts of carbohydrates, which turn to sugar/glucose in the body.

Instead, a sensible pre-diabetic diet consists of poultry, wild fish, lean red meat, vegetables and a moderate amount of fruit. Although fruit contains natural sugar, it still puts a strain on the body to deal with the sugar and glucose.

If you are tested positive for pre-diabetes, ask your doctor for a list of foods you should eat. Undoubtedly, you will be instructed to avoid sugary pastries and limit the amount of bread and pasta you eat. Follow the diet your doctor or nurse gives you and your pre-diabetic condition should not get any worse.

Be More Active

Being active is one of the most beneficial things an older person can do to keep full-blown diabetes at bay.

A senior who has been diagnosed as being pre-diabetic should not panic and begin a strenuous exercise program. Instead, he or she should examine how active they are now and increase the activity step by step. If your loved one usually walk ten minutes a day, help them increase it to fifteen. If your loved one walk around the mall or grocery store once a week, encourage them do it twice a week.

If your loved one decide to take up swimming, help them join a senior's water class and start out slowly. Over exercising after receiving the news that he or she is a pre-diabetic will not help your loved one.

So the first step is to get tested for diabetes. If your loved one is diagnosed as being pre-diabetic, help them follow a diet designed for diabetics by consulting reputable Home Care Assistance Vancouver providers. Then increase their activity gradually, but not too much. If after following this routine your loved one lose a few pounds, he or she is doing a good job. Their doctor and you'll know that you are on the road to keeping their pre-diabetes condition in check.

Amelia Taylor is a nature loving and professional writer. She loves to help others find ways to make life fun and aging easier to enjoy life, She works with a href=""Home Care Vancouver to pass on her knowledge and efforts to spread happiness.