Keto Means
Photo by Ono  Kosuki Pexels Logo Photo: Ono Kosuki

At what A1C level should you start metformin?

The ADA also said that health-care professionals could consider metformin for anyone with prediabetes or an HbA1c level (a measure of long-term blood glucose control) between 5.7% and 6.4%.

What happens if you cheat once a week on keto?
What happens if you cheat once a week on keto?

The bottom line. You should avoid cheat meals and days on the keto diet. Consuming too many carbs can kick your body out of ketosis — and it takes...

Read More »
How many carbs a day lazy keto?
How many carbs a day lazy keto?

What is lazy keto? Lazy keto is a low-carb diet that limits your daily net carbohydrate intake to under 20–50 grams per day. Unlike a strict keto...

Read More »

Prediabetes is, for many people, a confusing condition. It’s not quite Type 2 diabetes — but it’s not quite nothing, either. So how concerned should you be about it?

For years, the jargon-filled names given to this condition — impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) — may have made the task of taking it seriously more difficult. But in 2002, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), along with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, inaugurated the term “prediabetes” to convey the likely result of not making diet or lifestyle changes in response to this diagnosis. In 2003, the threshold for prediabetes was lowered from a fasting glucose level of 110 mg/dl to one of 100 mg/dl. Then, in 2008, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) began recommending the drug metformin for some cases of prediabetes — specifically, for people under age 60 with a very high risk of developing diabetes, for people who are very obese (with a body-mass index, or BMI, of 35 or higher), and for women with a history of gestational diabetes. The ADA also said that health-care professionals could consider metformin for anyone with prediabetes or an HbA1c level (a measure of long-term blood glucose control) between 5.7% and 6.4%. But according to a recent study, metformin is still rarely prescribed for prediabetes. The study, published in April in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, found that only 3.7% of people with prediabetes were prescribed metformin over a three-year period, based on data from a large national sample of adults ages 19 to 58. According to a Medscape article on the study, 7.8% of people with prediabetes with a BMI of 35 or higher or a history of gestational diabetes were prescribed metformin — still a very low rate for the highest-risk groups, in which evidence for the benefits of metformin is strongest. It appears that most doctors simply aren’t following the ADA’s guidelines or aren’t aware of them, as they relate to prediabetes. As we noted here at Diabetes Flashpoints in a 2011 post, both metformin and lifestyle intervention programs have been found to be effective at slowing the progression of prediabetes to Type 2 diabetes — with lifestyle intervention found to be more effective but more expensive. While there is debate about when and whether it’s best to prescribe metformin or a lifestyle program for prediabetes, it’s unlikely that more than a handful of the participants in the recent study were participating in lifestyle programs, instead of or in addition to taking metformin. Want to learn more about this popular diabetes drug? Read “Diabetes Medicine: Metformin,” “Metformin: The Unauthorized Biography,” and “Metformin Smelling Fishy? What You Can Do,” then take our quiz, “How Much Do You Know About Metformin?”

Are chocolates keto?
Are chocolates keto?

While 1 ounce (28 grams) of high quality dark chocolate can fit into a keto diet, a larger serving will likely exceed your limit. Dark chocolate...

Read More »
Is Soup good for keto?
Is Soup good for keto?

Carolyn points out that soups and stews are actually the perfect Keto food. What is this? They're simple, easy and adaptable. If you're new to the...

Read More »

What happens if I eat 12 whole eggs a day?
What happens if I eat 12 whole eggs a day?

After eating 12 eggs a day for a whole week (that's 84 eggs), his weight had dropped by 3.8 pounds to 201.6, and his body fat had gone down by 0.8...

Read More »
What would happen if I just ate eggs for a week?
What would happen if I just ate eggs for a week?

Although eggs are nutritious, the egg diet doesn't have enough variety or calories to be considered a healthy or sustainable way of eating. With...

Read More »
How do you clean your arteries and veins?
How do you clean your arteries and veins?

Follow a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts. Keep meat, dairy, sugar, refined grains, salt and saturated fats to...

Read More »
Is Philadelphia cream cheese on the keto diet?
Is Philadelphia cream cheese on the keto diet?

Cream Cheese This is a keto favorite, thanks to its nutritional profile: Per the USDA, 1 oz contains 84 calories, 8 g of fat, 1 g of carbs, and 2 g...

Read More »