What Dr. Martin would do first about prediabetes at 60
He changes the fuel. That is the first move, and it comes before anything else on this page, because of one sentence he repeats more than any other.
Dr. Martin on the cause:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 897Remember folks, insulin resistance is food.
He does not leave room around it either. His next line is that it is not anything else. It is food.
Read that as good news rather than a telling off. If the cause is what is going on the plate, then the first lever is one you already control, and you do not need anyone's permission to pull it.
What prediabetes actually is
Strip out the jargon and prediabetes is not really about sugar in the blood. It is about insulin, and whether your cells are still listening to it.
Dr. Martin on how he pictures it:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 897It's the pesky neighbor that insists on coming around and your cells resist insulin because of food.
Insulin keeps knocking. The cells stop answering the door. So the body sends more insulin, which works for a while, which is exactly why this can run quietly for years before a number moves.
He calls the pair of them the twin towers: the fat going on and the insulin problem underneath it. Metabolic syndrome is the formal name for it.
Why it hides for years
This is the part that catches women in their sixties, because the tests keep coming back fine.
His description is blunt. People may not even register on the scale for diabetes, and yet they are packing on fat and they do have an insulin problem. The label has not arrived. The condition has.
Which is why he does not wait for a diagnosis to change anything. If the fat is going on around the middle and the energy is gone after meals, he treats that as the signal rather than waiting for a number to cross a line someone else drew.
The slow version of the same damage shows up in the liver first, and he walks through that in it only takes a month of eating sugar to get fatty liver.
The Metformin conversation
Say this part carefully, because he does.
Dr. Martin on the prescription:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 897And I never tell people to come off Metformin.
That is the limit he sets on himself, and it is the limit on this page too. Nothing here is a reason to change or stop a medication. If you want to talk about your prescription, that conversation belongs with the doctor who wrote it.
What he says instead is that he goes down another road. Not against the drug, underneath it. If the thing being managed is insulin resistance, and insulin resistance comes from food, then the food is the road he takes.
The B12 catch
There is one thing he does want anyone on Metformin to know, and he is emphatic about it.
Dr. Martin on the side effect he cares most about:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 897But the biggest problem with Metformin is it destroys your vitamin B12.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 897If you're taking Metformin, you're going to be low in B12, almost invariably.
His words are that it takes it out of your body, and that this matters because B12 is an essential vitamin. Almost invariably is a strong phrase and he chose it.
The practical version for a woman over 60: if you are on Metformin, put B12 on the list of things you ask about at your next blood test rather than assuming it is covered. He goes through why so many people are low anyway in why are people so low in B12.
Food is the medicine he means
Dr. Martin on the shift he is asking for:
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 897To understand that food is medicine.
He says it, then says it three more times, which is what he does when he wants a line to stick. His follow-on is the part worth sitting with: food is either bad medicine or good medicine, and there are not many genuinely neutral foods left.
He is also honest about the hard part. He says the real obstacle is not knowing what to do, it is compliance. Doing it. That is why he sends people to a reset rather than a list of rules, and it is why the first week is the week that decides the rest.
If red meat is the thing you have been told to cut, he has an episode on exactly that question: does eating red meat give you diabetes.
Common questions
What should I do first about prediabetes?
He changes the fuel first. He treats prediabetes as an insulin problem driven by food, so the plate is the first thing he looks at.
What causes insulin resistance?
He says insulin resistance is food, and describes cells that stop responding to insulin because of what is being eaten.
Does Metformin cause a B12 deficiency?
He calls it the biggest problem with the drug, and says anyone taking it will be low in B12 almost invariably.
Should I stop taking Metformin?
He is explicit that he never tells people to come off Metformin, and neither does this page. That is a conversation for you and your own doctor.
Is prediabetes reversible?
He treats it as a food problem rather than a permanent label, which is why the fuel is the first thing he changes. He is also honest that the hard part is sticking with it.
Read next: Can You Get Type 2 Diabetes After 60? and Insulin Resistance In Women Over 60: The Signs.
Act before it is diabetes
Blood Sugar Support Formula is the one Martin Clinic makes for this, alongside the food change rather than instead of it.
Shop Blood Sugar Support Formula
60-day money-back guarantee. The food side is laid out in The Metabolic Reset. Talk to your own doctor before adding anything alongside a prescription.These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Always consult your healthcare practitioner before starting a new supplement, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
