The article comments on the study "Early metabolic markers of the development of dysglycemia and type 2 diabetes and their physiological significance," by E. Ferrannini, A. Natali, S. Camastra and colleagues. The researchers proposed the use of fasting α-hydroxybutyrate (α-HB) and the lipid 1-linoleoyl-glycerophosphocholine (L-GPC) as biomarkers for predicting type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and dysglycemia.