Should I get tested for diabetes or pre-diabetes

This blog will give you some simple guidelines to follow to see whether it would be a good idea to get checked by your GP for pre diabetes/ diabetes. This is based on advice from Professor Satchin Panda's book - the Circadian Diabetes code.

We know that the way we live our lives either increases the risk of diabetes or discourages it. These are lifestyle habits that we can and should control such as physical activity, how much we sleep and when we eat our last meal. We don't always consider these things is why some people who are thin and otherwise healthy are shocked to discover they have been diagnosed with diabetes. But really there is always an underlying cause

Give yourself one point for any of the following that applies to you. You should be screened if you have five or more of the following diabetes risk factors

1. Asian, African American/black, Latino.

2. Are a man

3. Woman with poly cystic ovary syndrome

4. Overweight (see chart below)

5. Family history of diabetes

6. Family history of cardiovascular disease

7. Low HDL (good cholesterol) or raised triglycerides

8. Gestational diabetes (when pregnant)

9. Overnight shift worker

10. Diagnosed with acanthosis nigricans (dark, thick and velvety skin around neck and armpits)

11. Diagnosed depression

12. Hypertension

13. Travel across 2 time zones at least every 2 weeks

14. Typically eat dinner, snack or have a nightcap within 1 hour of going to bed

15. Sleep on average less than 6 hours per night

16. Average daily steps less than 5000