Many more, about 1 in 3 U.S. adults, have prediabetes, where blood sugar has risen above healthy levels but isn’t high enough yet to be classified as diabetes.

Naturally, then, it might feel daunting to try to get high blood sugar under control. But fortunately, experts say a number of simple (read: straightforward, not necessarily all easy, but doable) steps can bring glucose levels back into a healthy range. You also have plenty of reasons beyond diabetes prevention to do just that: A Dec. 12 study in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, using data from two landmark diabetes prevention studies, found that regulating blood sugar back to normal levels with lifestyle changes can cut the risk of death from heart disease or heart failure by half.