112: What is Pre-Diabetes and How to Manage and Reverse It with Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN

Eat, Drink, Live Longer

Do you or a family member or friend have pre-diabetes? Pre-diabetes is a condition that can lead to type 2 diabetes. It impacts 88 million Americans (that's one in three!) and can zap years from your life and vibrant health from those years. On today’s show, my guest is Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN, author of The Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook. Together, we'll explain how to manage pre-diabetes through diet and lifestyle and in some cases, even reverse it.

Lauren Harris-Pincus is the author of The Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook: 200 Healthy Recipes to Help Reverse and Manage Pre-Diabetes. Lauren is a nutrition communications specialist, speaker, spokesperson, consultant, and registered dietitian in private practice. She is the founder and owner of Nutrition Starring You, LLC, where she specializes in weight management and pre-diabetes. She is the author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club as well as her latest cookbook already mentioned. After growing up with weight issues and obesity, Lauren dedicated herself to combatting the growing adult and childhood obesity epidemic. She has wisdom to share about pre-diabetes, a condition that impacts 88 million Americans.

Show Highlights:

• Get to know Lauren, a Jersey mom of two young adult kids; she is passionate about nutrition and healthy living and spends as much time as possible at the theater
• What is pre-diabetes? A blood sugar level that is higher than normal but not quite high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes
• How A1C measures blood sugar as a solid measure (5.7-6.4 is pre-diabetic)
• Why pre-diabetes is scary because one in three adults have it–and at least 90% don’t even know they have it
• Why so many people are unaware that they have pre-diabetes
• Why pre-diabetes is only the tip of the iceberg for what is going on with your insulin levels and your pancreas
• Harmful effects of pre-diabetes include elevated blood sugar that damages blood vessels, kidneys, and eyes; it can also cause neuropathy and affect your longevity and quality of life
• Causes of pre-diabetes can include weight gain, genetic components, high-stress levels, certain medications, lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, and more
• How Lauren’s action plan to address pre-diabetes includes positive steps with no stigma and focuses on what to add vs. what to take away
• Why it is important to add more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, beans, and seeds
• Why Lauren’s plan includes ways to add better nutrition that helps you feel good, joyful movement that is sustainable, and managing stress, sleep, and mental health
• How to consider circadian rhythms in fueling our bodies earlier in the day vs. late at night because digestion and metabolism slow down as the sun goes down
• How modest weight loss can impact pre-diabetes–but shouldn’t be the primary goal
• How Lauren’s book is structured with 200 recipes in different categories of cuisine that feature “carb-controlled” ingredients of high fiber sources and nutrition information
• Why 95% of people don’t meet daily fiber intake goals, which impacts gut health and overall health
• Lauren’s favorite recipe: Deconstructed Spicy California Roll Salad made with romaine, cucumber, avocado, crab, spicy mayo, chopped seaweed snacks, and rice
• Lauren’s Spicy Chickpea Tacos with Arugula made with chickpeas, tomato paste and sauce, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, spices, dijon mustard, taco shells, arugula, and cilantro
• Where sugar fits into the pre-diabetes story–the key is moderation
• Why the prevalence of pre-diabetes reveals that most people are not eating the right foods for optimal health
• Lauren’s advice about where to start: “Try to eat a fruit or veggie at every meal, or even more than one is better. More produce, more produce, more produce! If your doctor diagnoses you with pre-diabetes and only tells you to lose weight, you need to go find another doctor.”

Resources:

Link to The Everything Easy Pre-Diabetes Cookbook

Lauren online and on social media:

Website: Nutrition Starring You

Find Lauren on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.