Do I Have Diabetes? How Can I Avoid Getting It?

You might have diabetes and not know it.

And the damage it’s doing can destroy your life.

Right now, 114 million Americans are walking around with dangerously high blood sugar but don’t know it. You could be one of them. Diabetes and prediabetes can sneak up on you without any warning signs. Both keep your blood sugar higher than it should be. And any level of chronic high blood sugar can do serious damage to your health and longevity. Taking control of your blood sugar now… today… before it has a chance to destroy your life can save your health. And that’s easier to do than you think.

High Blood Sugar Destroys Your Body

Your body runs on sugar. It’s the fuel for every cell, muscle, organ, and tissue in your body. Until it turns into a destructive force. Glucose gets released into your bloodstream during digestion. Special beta cells in your pancreas detect that sugar and release insulin, the hormone that moves sugar out of your blood and into your cells where it gets turned into energy. When there’s a glitch anywhere in that process, too much glucose stays in your blood for too long. That sugar destroys your body in critical ways:

• Creates insulin resistance, where cells ignore signals from insulin and don’t allow glucose inside, leading to cycle higher blood sugar and circulating insulin levels
• Damages blood vessels making it harder for your blood to deliver essential oxygen and nutrients throughout your body
• Produces AGEs (advanced glycation endproducts), harmful compounds that form when sugar binds with fat and proteins, then accumulate in tissues to cause inflammation and oxidative stress
• Promotes excess fat formation and storage by prompting your liver to convert sugar into fat
• Increases free radical production and oxidative stress
• Triggers systemic chronic inflammation

All of this damage can start before you realize anything is wrong. That’s why you always need to keep your blood sugar under control. Because by the time you find out you have a problem, the harm is already done.

The 8 Hidden Dangers of Type 2 Diabetes

Uncontrolled type 2 diabetes leaves your body drowning in sugar, destroying every cell it comes in contact with. And that can lead to dangerous health consequences. Type 2 diabetes, even prediabetes, greatly increases your risk of 8 significant health dangers:

1. Neuropathy, also called diabetic neuropathy, is nerve damage that leaves you with burning or stabbing pain and numbness, mainly in your hands and feet. Loss of nerve sensations can make you unaware of serious injuries, leading to infections and even amputation. 3
2. Cardiovascular disease skyrockets when you have type 2 diabetes. High blood sugar damages blood vessels and promotes atherosclerosis, plaque buildup that narrows your arteries to restrict blood flow. That increases your chance of heart attack and stroke by up to 400%. 4 Type 2 diabetes triples your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. 5
3. Kidney failure can leave you on dialysis or the waitlist for a kidney transplant, and type 2 diabetes is the leading cause. High sugar levels kill off the filters - called nephrons - in your kidneys so they can’t remove toxins from your blood or produce urine. Up to 40% of people with type 2 diabetes develop chronic kidney disease. 6
4. Immune dysfunction leaves you vulnerable to pathogens and slow wound healing. Chronic high blood sugar levels suppress your immune system and make you more susceptible to infectious diseases. 7 Type 2 diabetes also increases your risk of developing autoimmune conditions. 8
5. Depression affects up to 35% of diabetics, and people with both diseases have a harder time overcoming either. Having diabetes, even if you don’t know it, can triple your risk of developing depression. High blood sugar changes brain structure, lessens brain blood flow, and kills brain cells, all of which can lead to depression. 9
6. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs in up to 70% of people with diabetes. High blood sugar speeds up fatty liver disease and its progression to deadly versions including NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), cirrhosis, and liver cancer. 10
7. Blindness is frighteningly common among diabetics. At least 26.4% of people with diabetes develop retinopathy, because high blood sugar destroys the blood vessels in the eyes. 11 It starts with blurry vision and dark spots, and ends with complete vision loss.
8. Alzheimer’s disease is referred to as Type 3 diabetes. Having diabetes at least doubles your chances of developing Alzheimer’s. And the longer your blood sugar is out of control, the higher the risk becomes. Chronic high blood glucose destroys brain cells and damages blood vessels in the brain. 12

Even without a diabetes diagnosis, uncontrolled high blood sugar can destroy your body, your mind, and your life. That’s why it’s crucial to act right away to take control.

If you want to take total charge of your blood sugar, you’ll need to know four key biomarker measures:

1. Fasting blood glucose, the amount of sugar in your blood when you haven’t eaten for at least 8 hours
   Normal healthy range: 70-99 mg/dL Prediabetes: 100-125 mg/dL Diabetes: 126 mg/dL or higher
2. Fasting insulin, how much insulin is circulating at least 8 hours after eating, tracks insulin resistance
   Optimal range: 3-5 units/mL Normal: up to 10 units/mL High: over 10 units/mL
3. HbA1c, which measures average blood sugar over the past few months
   Healthy range: up to 5.6% Prediabetes: 5.7 – 6.4% Diabetes: 6.5% or higher
4. HOMA-IR, a score the takes both fasting insulin and fasting blood glucose into account to accurately measure insulin function, resistance, and effectiveness
   Optimal level: less than 1.0 Insulin resistance: over 1.9 Severe insulin resistance: over 2.9

Keeping your blood sugar from soaring takes a little work, but the result will be a longer, healthier, more comfortable life.

Four Ways to Take Control of Your Blood Sugar

Keeping your blood sugar in the safe zone takes a little effort, but it’s well worth it for your health and longevity. Taking these four simple steps can help control your blood sugar and help you avoid the dire consequences of type 2 diabetes.

Diet.

Eating a healthy diet is key to keeping blood sugar under control. Balance your meals to prevent sugar spikes by including healthy fats, proteins, non-starchy vegetables, and fiber. Carbohydrates convert to sugar, so prioritize complex carbs like apples over simple carbs like fruit juice. Avoid processed foods, refined grains, and added sugar.

Exercise.

Exercise tackles blood sugar in two important ways. First, it uses glucose to fuel muscles and burns up energy. Second, a single aerobic workout session can improve insulin sensitivity by as much as 35% and that boost can last for up to 3 days. 13 Taking just a 10-minute walk after eating significantly reduces post-meal sugar spikes. 14 And any type of consistent exercise lowers HbA1c levels for longer-term sugar control. 15

Berberine.

Berberine is a plant compound that activates AMPK, your “metabolic master switch” to lower fasting blood sugar and HbA1c levels. 16 It also increases insulin sensitivity to maximize glucose uptake in the cells. 17 Research shows that berberine stimulates GLP-1 18 (glucagon-like peptide-1), a peptide known for: 19 , 20 , 21

• regulating blood sugar levels
• signaling insulin release
• slowing digestion and glucose release
• promoting feelings of fullness
• increasing fat burning

Berberine also works as an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound, 22 helping reduce diabetes complications. A daily dose of 700 mg of bioavailable berberine daily, either in a single dose or as 350 mg two times a day, helps keep blood sugar under control.

Sulforaphane.

Sulforaphane is a natural plant chemical with dozens of proven health benefits including strong anti- diabetic powers. It’s found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, broccoli sprouts, and cabbage. And just 10 mg a day can make all the difference.

A full serving of sulforaphane unlocks the tools your body has to keep blood sugar from spiking out of control. That all starts with the crucial NRF-2 pathway, which regulates your metabolic system, making it the key player in the fight against diabetes and its hidden dangers. 23 Research shows that sulforaphane: 24 , 25 , 26 , 27

• Significantly lowers fasting blood sugar and A1C in people with diabesity
• Reverses prediabetes
• Reduces glucose production in the liver
• Improves insulin sensitivity
• Reduces diabetes complications
• Prevents and fixes diabetes-related damage

If you can’t stomach the idea of eating at least 2 pounds of cruciferous vegetables daily, your best option is a fast-acting, highly bioavailable, clinically validated sulforaphane supplement. Just 10 mg in supplement form daily delivers enough crucifer power to keep blood sugar under control.

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