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November 14, 2025 17 mins

More than 1 in 3 adults in the U.S. has prediabetes —and most don’t know it. In this special World Diabetes Day episode, Coach Jenny Peña, NBC-HWC, explains what this global awareness day means and breaks down the key risk factors for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.


You’ll hear current CDC and WHO stats, how lifestyle shifts make a difference, and simple ways to start taking action today.

  • What World Diabetes Day is and why it matters

  • The main risk factors for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes

  • Why awareness is the first step toward prevention

  • How small, realistic changes can cut your risk by more than 50 percent

  • 3 common myths that keep people stuck

📘 Prediabetes Roadmap Guide — Understand your labs and take clear next steps → https://subscribepage.io/starterguide

🍽️ 5-Day Reset — Your self-paced kick-start to balanced blood sugar and energy → https://subscribepage.io/energy
Reset is just $19 through November.


Listen to episode 36 to learn more about how a 5 day reset can help - https://open.spotify.com/episode/42Lf9eOMemVLh9w37vnfpO?si=4fd6ef919efe4280

🔗 Connect with Jenny🌐 Website | 📸 Instagram @coachjenp | 💼 LinkedIn | ▶️ YouTube @coachjenp


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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello friend, welcome back to the past to better A1C podcast.
I am your host coach Jenny Pena and today's episode is extra
special, at least for me becauseit airs on World Diabetes Day.
I know every year on November 14th, millions of people around

(00:21):
the world. This is not just in the United
States where I am, but many people around the world come
together to raise awareness about diabetes and prevention.
And actually, this year's theme is Diabetes and Well-being,
which is focusing on the impact that diabetes can have in your
daily life and at work, which isamazing because I work with

(00:46):
clients that that is one thing that they need help navigating.
Now before we dive in, I want toshare something brand new that
I'm super excited about and it is my pre diabetes road map
guide. I created this with those
individuals that have just been diagnosed with pre diabetes.

(01:07):
Maybe it runs in your family andyou are at a higher risk of
developing it and you want to start taking precautions right
and changing certain lifestyles to make sure that you can
prevent diabetes. This guide helps you understand
your numbers, what labs to ask or questions to talk to your

(01:29):
doctor about, and how to start balancing your blood sugar with
confidence. Three simple steps.
That's that has my 111 method inthere that you can start
incorporating. If you have just been diagnosed
with prediabetes, you have no idea where to start.
You need to get some clarity. This is the guide for you.
This is what I wish I had when Ifirst got diagnosed with

(01:51):
prediabetes. Now you can grab that at
subscribe page dot IO forward slash starter guide.
I will put the link in the description notes.
If you go to my web page also, you are going to get a pop up
about that guide. It's absolutely free.
I created it with love and with all of you in mind.
Now let's talk about World Diabetes Day.

(02:12):
What does it mean going over what puts you at risk?
Because a lot of people say are you at risk?
And maybe you don't know what puts you at risk And also why
now when you're seeing maybe certain signs, certain flags, I
like to call it yellow flags andsometimes red flags when you're

(02:32):
starting to see certain patterns.
Please don't do what so many people sometimes tell me and
they say I don't have diabetes yet so I don't need to do
anything. But what I tell them is when
your A1C levels are starting to get elevated, when you're seeing
pre diabetes not doing anything,it's increasing the chances that

(02:53):
you will have diabetes later. So please just don't panic, but
think about this as something that is going to provoke you to
create change and change that isa lot simpler than managing
diabetes. Now let's talk about World
Diabetes Day and what is it all about?

(03:13):
So it was created by the International Diabetes
Federation and the World Health Organization back in 1991.
It's celebrated this year, November 14th, and it is the
birthday of Doctor Frederick Banting.
He is actually the scientist whocalled discovered insulin.
It's not just a day of statistics, but more of a

(03:35):
reminder, right? A reminder that diabetes effects
real people, real families, but also that prevention works.
In the United States alone, one in three adults have three
diabetes, and sadly, more than 8and 10 don't know it.
That's 80%. Now, globally, the numbers

(03:56):
continue to climb. The World Health Organization
reports that over 400 million people actually live with
diabetes today. But here's the hopeful part,
right? Pre diabetes is that yellow
flag. It's not a sentence.
A lot of people think that, well, I have pre diabetes, so I
am going to have diabetes. There's nothing I can do.

(04:17):
And I'm here to tell you, no, that is absolutely incorrect.
And awareness is actually the first step towards prevention.
You need to be aware of these things because I just quoted a
statistic in the USA, lot of people don't know you won't be
able to take action and do the necessary things to so that you

(04:37):
can prevent diabetes now becausethis day it's about turning
awareness into action, I decidedto do something special.
For this month of November, I amgoing to be offering several
workshops for free and all of myplatforms.
If you don't follow me and otherplatforms please, I'm going to

(04:57):
have the workshop on YouTube, onLinkedIn and I'm going to have a
private workshop via Zoom. Just follow me one of the
platforms you will have access to this and it's my pre diabetes
one-on-one workshop. Now on top of that, I created a
five day reset program is calledthe Sugar Fix Reset and it is

(05:20):
self-paced via e-mail. It is five day reset.
You will have specific steps to do each day, additional tools to
use each day. You can keep it on a loop if you
wish. You don't need any apps, but it
has structure so that you can incorporate these simple

(05:40):
strategies and start balancing your blood sugar.
For this month to celebrate Diabetes Awareness Month, it is
available for just $19.00. I will put the link and the bio
but a subscribe page dot IO forward slash energy.
As you will regain your energy, you will conquer those cravings.
You will find balance. You're going to see the

(06:02):
difference within five days if you follow it.
I can assure you my clients start seeing the difference
right away. Now it is an easy first step to
build that momentum without feeling overwhelmed.
Everything is just to regain that energy, reduce those
cravings, and get that blood sugar bounce in check.
Now let's talk about what puts you at risk.

(06:26):
A lot of people think that it's just genetics.
Genetics is 1 component. It doesn't mean that if they get
it, you get it. It just means that now there is
a little bit of a more likelihood that you may get it.
Now let's go to the main risk factors and there are different

(06:47):
places. You can go to the American
Diabetes Association web page. You can go to the CDC web page.
There is a quick questionnaire that you can fill out and I can
make that in the show notes so that you can assess what is your
ranking in terms of risk. Now, family history of diabetes
is absolutely a risk factor. If you're older than 45, that is

(07:10):
a risk factor. If you're carrying extra weight,
especially around the waist, that is also a risk factor.
I will disclose a lot of people think that if they're not
overweight or obese that they cannot get diabetes.
I can tell you I was borderline diabetic, like I almost got to

(07:33):
that point and I was not overweight or obese and I was in
my 20s. So these are risk factors.
However you could, you should still observe your symptoms.
You'd still have to track these things.
Be aware. It's all about awareness.
Low activity levels, I know sitting down for long periods of

(07:54):
time, not much movement. That is another factor.
If you have high blood pressure or high levels of cholesterol,
that is something that actually when you combined everything, it
could be called metabolic syndrome and it tends to be
paired. Typically when you have insulin
resistance and you're having blood sugar imbalances, most

(08:17):
likely to start to see that yourblood pressure starts getting
up, You're starting to see that the cholesterol level starts
getting elevated. It is just something that it
tends to kind of like work together and then it creates
major complications down the line.
The other element is the historyof gestational diabetes.

(08:41):
Ladies, if you had gestational diabetes, that adds a bit of a
risk factor there or delivering a large baby.
The other factor is actually your ethnic group, Hispanics,
blacks, Asian Americans, Native Americans, they are at higher
risk of developing diabetes and then this not forget sleep and
stress. When cortisol levels stay high

(09:04):
for too long, blood sugar can actually creep up even without
dietary changes and that is a major aha moment for a lot of my
clients. Balancing blood sugar is not
just about nutrition. Yes, it is an important
component of all the different components that you need to
tweak in order to balance your blood sugar, but it's not about

(09:26):
nutrition alone. There are other elements that
you need to work on. Now, if you're nodding along, if
you're saying wow, OK, there is a family history.
I'm over 45, I have a little bitof an extra weight and you're
nodding as I am mentioning all these things, please don't
panic. Take a deep breath.

(09:47):
Risk does not mean destiny. It means you have the knowledge
to make simple, powerful shifts right now.
So start by getting tested. Ask your doctor for your A1C and
your fasting glucose levels. In the US it's pretty much the
standard at least once a year. This is part of your annual

(10:11):
checkup. But if you're concerned, go to
your doctor and ask for that. Then use my free pre diabetes
road map guide that will help you understand those results.
Learn how to build balanced meals that work for you.
And again, it's absolutely free.Subscribe page dot IO forward
slash starter guide. That's your first step.

(10:33):
You're starting to see that you're craving carbs a lot.
Maybe you're feeling thirsty allthe time.
It seems like even after eating you're still having those
cravings. You're feeling ups and downs and
energy and focus and brain fog. All of these things can be signs
of blood sugar imbalances. The moment that you start

(10:54):
noticing these things, and if some of those risk factors kind
of like rang a bell in your head, talk to your doctor, get
tested. That's half of the battle to
just understand your numbers. And I will say, even if your
numbers are within normal range,if you have access to your
history of those numbers and yousee those numbers creeping up,

(11:16):
it may mean that you're already having some difficulty
processing that sugar. Studies show that lifestyle
changes can actually reduce the risk of developing diabetes by
as much as 58%. I had a workshop and somebody
asked, can you reverse or prevent diabetes?

(11:36):
There is not a hard fast rule, but the data that the CDC
collects especially for diabetesprevention program that I have
run a couple of times and it's ayear long program and they
gather a lot of data. They have evidence that all
these lifestyle changes, they can either prevent or delay the

(11:58):
onset of type 2 diabetes by 58% and that is not a minor
improvement. That's transformational, and
it's very simple. Even a modest weight loss of 5%
of my current weight if it's just going to add 150 minutes of
movement a week that actually completely can switch the needle

(12:18):
in the right direction when it comes to your A1C levels and
your energy. I want you to feel empowered.
And no, don't use that. Thanksgiving is coming and
Christmas is coming and Hanukkahand all these other holidays
that are coming in November and December.
You can still work on balancing your blood sugar and still enjoy

(12:39):
your holidays. The best time is today.
Let's wrap up with a few myths. 1 myth that a lot of people come
to me, especially when they do clarity calls, is that if it
runs in my family, I am doomed, so might as well just let it
happen. That's the one thing.
So the truth is yes genes matterbut habits matter more.

(13:02):
Yes there there is a likelihood.As someone that has a family
history it is a possibility but habits matter more.
Some people say pre diabetes means I already have diabetes
and it's not true. It's a warning sign.
You can still reverse it. It's already saying that your

(13:24):
body is having a bit of an efficiency issue using glucose
from your blood as energy, so your levels are higher than
desired for a bit longer than the usual.
The other thing that a lot of people tell me about this, I
have pre diabetes. It's not diabetes yet, so I

(13:45):
don't have to do anything. So that's the excuse for
inaction. And I'm here to tell you
inaction is action, not doing anything.
You are making a decision. And I can tell you most likely
it's going to end up in you developing diabetes just because
your body is already sharing information to you.

(14:07):
It's giving you signs and signals.
And if you don't do anything, it's just going to keep
deteriorating. It's like having a car and
having a light showing that there's an indicator for the
oil, but well, the car's still running.
I'm still going to to my job. I'm still doing this.

(14:27):
Nothing smells bad. So, and not doing anything and
not checking, just waiting for things to get worse.
That's the best analogy that I can use right now.
Now, the third myth, that myth that a lot of people talk about,
you have to cut out carbs completely.
This is like the biggest misconception that I have to

(14:48):
debunk. It's not about not having carbs.
It's about what type of carbs, what's the proportion, how
you're having them? What is the timing?
There's so many other factors. And I can tell you your body
needs scarves. Your brain needs scarves.
A lot of people go into very ultra extreme diets and I'm

(15:12):
telling you, it's just it doesn't work, at least in the
long run, it doesn't work. It actually backfires more than
not. So finding that balance is key.
Incorporating food groups that works best following that

(15:34):
diabetes plate, that is the bestapproach.
So hopefully this is bringing you some clarity and, and I know
that today we covered some risk factors, we covered some first
steps. Now next week I am covering a
topic that is very important. So we are going to talk about

(15:55):
next week about different diet approaches.
We're going to talk about keto, Mediterranean, lower carb, plant
based, some of these diet trendsthat personally I feel that
they're a bit extreme and I personally will not endorse and,
and I am going to share the onesthat are supported by the
American Diabetes Association. And we are going to go over how

(16:20):
to build your balance plate. You can use the foods that you
enjoy, foods that you love and still create balance in your
plate. So if you are not following the
podcast, I will say give it a follow so you can get the alert.
Don't miss it. And thank you for joining me
today on World Diabetes Day. And remember that awareness is

(16:41):
power, but action results in transformation.
So grab your free pre diabetes road map and if you're ready to
put those steps into practice with a more structured set of
tools, then get that five day reset.
It's just a $19.00. Share this episode with anyone

(17:02):
that you know that you care about that maybe they just got
diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes and they feel a bit
overwhelmed and they don't know how to process.
Let's spread the word because the more that we spread
awareness, the more lives can bechanged.
I am Coach Jenny and it's been an honor to bring awareness here

(17:22):
at the Path to Better A1C. I'll see you next week.
Bye.
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