Don’t be old school when talking about your diabetes health 

Recently the term ‘borderline diabetes’ has been replaced with the term ‘prediabetes’. 

Prediabetes is a condition that develops before a person is diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It basically means your blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but they’re not quite high enough to be considered a sign of diabetes. You may not have a diabetes diagnosis but having prediabetes still puts you at increased risk of developing heart disease and stroke

Approximately 88 million American adults—more than 1 in 3—have prediabetes. Of those with prediabetes, more than 84% don’t know they have it.

What are the warning signs of prediabetes?

One possible sign of prediabetes is darkened skin on certain parts of the body. Affected areas can include the neck, armpits, elbows, knees and knuckles. Other symptoms include increased thirst, frequent urination, excess hunger, fatigue and blurred vision. 

Remember, borderline diabetes, or prediabetes, doesn’t guarantee that you’ll develop type 2 diabetes. Take small steps to make any healthy changes to your diet or activity habits under the guidance of your healthcare team.

Jody Watley’s ninth solo album, The Makeover features a remake of Madonna’s Borderline.

“It was going to be a remix project. The project evolved and moved away from that, and that really came from doing live concerts, “ Jody Watley told NPR. “And I every now and again would do a cover of a favorite song of mine. And I did a series of shows in San Francisco called Songs in the Key of My Life.”

Let Jody Watley’s version of Madonna’s iconic song, Borderline push you past any hesitations to take this quick prediabetes risk test.

TAKE THE PREDIABETES RISK TEST

If your doctor is concerned you may have prediabetes, they’ll most likely give you a A1c(hbA1c) test. 

HbA1c is an indicator of your blood sugar patterns over the last two to three months, so it’s often a better overall picture than a single fasting blood sugar check. An HbA1c level between 5.7 and 6.4 indicates prediabetes.

“My message would be to never lose sight of who you really are. Because when all is said and done, you have to be able to look at yourself and remember and recognize that, you know, I am who I am,” said Jody Watley.