What Does Prediabetes Really Mean? | Dr. Anne Peters

"I'm really worried about a society in which we go on and off these drugs, because people will get sicker and sicker."

"Dear Dr. Jen, I was just diagnosed with prediabetes. What does this mean?" About 1 in 3 Americans have been told they have prediabetes, and most of them don't get a real answer. To give one, Dr. Jennifer Ashton sits down with Dr. Anne Peters: professor of medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine, director of the USC Clinical Diabetes Program, one of the people who literally write the diabetes guidelines, and one of the first doctors in the country to prescribe GLP-1s back in 2005. They get into why Anne wants to retire the word "prediabetes," the screening most women with a history of gestational diabetes never get, what continuous glucose monitoring can and can't tell you if you don't have diabetes, and her candid take on GLP-1s for weight loss and wellness.

Chapters

(00:00) The question: "I was told I have prediabetes"

(02:33) How Anne became an endocrinologist

(08:13) What insulin and hormones actually do

(10:57) Is a glucose spike after eating bad?

(13:25) Type 1 vs. type 2: why the labels are confusing

(16:27) What prediabetes means (and can it be reversed?)

(21:27) Had gestational diabetes? The yearly screening most women skip

(24:06) A word from our sponsors: Function Health and Alloy

(25:50) Whole apple vs. apple juice: why fiber matters

(28:10) Continuous glucose monitoring without diabetes: what the numbers can and can't tell you

(31:33) The best breakfast for your blood sugar

(33:11) How GLP-1s were discovered and first used

(37:06) Why going on and off GLP-1s is risky

(43:22) What to do if you have prediabetes

(47:34) How type 1 diabetes care has changed

A diagnosis isn't the end of the conversation. It's the start of one. Follow the show so you don't miss an episode, and send me your questions, because this show is built on them.

For educational and informational purposes only, not medical advice. Please consult with your own physician. No physician-patient relationship is created.

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