A family nurse practitioner with Prime Health Care in Weslaco says about 25% of the population has prediabetes and doesn't know it.

"Prediabetes basically is just a blood sugar level that is higher than normal but not high enough to be diabetes," Adriana Milkie said.

Milkie says Hispanics are genetically predisposed to the condition. She says glucose screenings are important because many people don't realize they have it.

"Basically 25% of the population is pre-diabetic and they don't know it, that means 1 in 4," Milkie said.

She says pre-diabetes can be reversed with lifestyle changes. Milkie works with patients to understand their activity levels and eating habits.

"We find out and talk to them first and educate them on what they're doing, basically find out what this person is doing, are they active, are they eating, what does their diet look like," Milkie said.

Local eating habits can make the change difficult. Milkie says the Valley diet often includes tamales, barbacoa, menudo, tortillas, rice, and sodas.

She says swapping these foods for healthier options and eating them in moderation can make a difference.

"If you're pre-diabetic, it's reversible; it's something you can change with lifestyle modification, with dietary modification," Milkie said.

Nelda Diaz was diagnosed with pre-diabetes about two years ago. She says she knew she had to make changes because of her family history of diabetes.

"Coming from a strong background, family background of diabetes, I knew I had to make some changes, so what I did, I've always exercised, so I just continued with the exercise, but my diet definitely had to change," Diaz said.

Diaz started small but increased her activity over time.

"I increased from walking to jogging and a little bit of weights, and also in regard to my diet, I stopped eating bread, tortillas, and no sugary foods or soft drinks," Diaz said.

Blood sugar levels under 100 are considered normal. Levels between 100 and 125 are pre-diabetic.

Levels over 126 are diabetes.

Watch the video above for the full story.

This April, CHANNEL 5 NEWS will educate viewers about diabetes prevention and treatment. KRGV will provide a 360-degree look into the diabetes epidemic in the RGV.

H-E-B and South Texas Health System are offering free diabetes screenings in the month of April. Check out the calendar at this link for times and dates when the screenings will be available.

Heart of the Valley: Diabetes is sponsored by Prime Health and South Texas Health System.