Exercise can help you go beyond type 2 diabetes by:
Normally, insulin is released from the pancreas when blood sugar increases, such as after eating. Insulin stimulates the liver and muscles to take in excess glucose. This results in a lowering of the blood sugar level.
When exercising, the body needs extra energy or fuel (sugar) for the exercising muscles. For short bursts of exercise, such as a quick sprint to catch the bus, the muscles and the liver can release stores of sugar for fuel. With continued moderate exercising, however, your muscles take up glucose at almost 20 times the normal rate. This lowers blood sugar levels throughout the day.
Intense exercise can have the opposite effect and actually increase blood sugar. The body recognizes intense exercise as a stress and releases stress hormones that tell your body to increase available blood sugar to fuel your muscles. If this happens to you, you may need to slow your intensity down or add insulin.
For a variety of reasons, after exercise, people with diabetes may have an increase or a decrease in their blood sugar levels.
What Exercises are Good for Type 2 Diabetes?
While most any exercise is healthy for people with diabetes, let’s look at some specific types of exercise and their benefits:
The latest findings show that exercise such as strength training has a profound impact on helping people manage their diabetes.
Any activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended period of time will improve your aerobic fitness. Aerobic exercise helps decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes and helps those with diabetes to better manage their blood sugar levels.
- Improving your body’s use of insulin
- Burning excess body fat, helping to decrease and control weight (decreased body fat results in improved insulin sensitivity)
- Improving muscle strength
- Increasing bone density and strength
- Lowering blood pressure
- Helping to protect against heart and blood vessel disease by lowering ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and increasing ‘good’ HDL cholesterol
- Improving blood circulation and reducing your risk of heart disease
- Increasing energy level and enhancing work capacity
- Reducing stress, promoting relaxation, and releasing tension and anxiety
Normally, insulin is released from the pancreas when blood sugar increases, such as after eating. Insulin stimulates the liver and muscles to take in excess glucose. This results in a lowering of the blood sugar level.
When exercising, the body needs extra energy or fuel (sugar) for the exercising muscles. For short bursts of exercise, such as a quick sprint to catch the bus, the muscles and the liver can release stores of sugar for fuel. With continued moderate exercising, however, your muscles take up glucose at almost 20 times the normal rate. This lowers blood sugar levels throughout the day.
Intense exercise can have the opposite effect and actually increase blood sugar. The body recognizes intense exercise as a stress and releases stress hormones that tell your body to increase available blood sugar to fuel your muscles. If this happens to you, you may need to slow your intensity down or add insulin.
For a variety of reasons, after exercise, people with diabetes may have an increase or a decrease in their blood sugar levels.
What Exercises are Good for Type 2 Diabetes?
While most any exercise is healthy for people with diabetes, let’s look at some specific types of exercise and their benefits:
The latest findings show that exercise such as strength training has a profound impact on helping people manage their diabetes.
- In a recent study of Hispanic men and women, 16 weeks of strength training produced dramatic improvements in sugar control that are comparable to taking diabetes medication.
- Additionally, the study volunteers were stronger, gained muscle, lost body fat, had less depression, and felt much more self-confident.
Any activity that raises your heart rate and keeps it up for an extended period of time will improve your aerobic fitness. Aerobic exercise helps decrease the risk of type 2 diabetes and helps those with diabetes to better manage their blood sugar levels.
- Besides the health benefits, exercise boosts your mood. It’s hard to feel stressed when you’re walking fast on a treadmill or swimming laps in a pool.
- To reduce the risk of low or high blood sugars, follow a regular routine of exercising, eating meals, and taking your medicines at the same time each day.
- If you are participating in strenuous exercise (exercising at your maximum capacity) or prolonged exercise (lasting for several hours or more), your insulin and/or oral diabetic medicine may need to be changed. Talk to your health care provider about how to adjust your medicine.
- Be careful exercising when your medicine is reaching its peak effect.
- Exercise with someone who knows you have diabetes and knows what to do if you have a low/high blood sugar. Wear a medical identification tag (for example, MedicAlert) or carry an identification card that states you have diabetes.
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