Diabetes and Exercise

Diabetes and Exercise

Exercise and Diabetes

Want to manage your blood sugar to prevent diabetes complications? Get moving!

Not a fan of regular exercise? Consider becoming one. Exercise is critical to help you manage your diabetes.

Exercise improves insulin's ability to lower high blood sugar and keep it stable -- a key requirement for living a healthier life with diabetes and preventing its complications. Regular workouts also help you improve your cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, strengthen your heart, and maintain or lose weight. Add to that the fact that exercise lowers stress, increases energy, and improves mood and you've got an incredibly powerful tool for managing diabetes on several fronts.

A new study reveals how important physical activity is to control blood sugar. Researchers found that when physically active, nondiabetic adults cut their normal amount of exercise in half for three days, they had a 97% higher-than-normal spike in blood sugar one hour after eating a meal.

"We're quite certain that regular daily 'physical activity' plus exercise can both prevent and effectively treat diabetes," says study co-author John Thyfault, associate professor at the University of Missouri's Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology.

How much exercise is enough? Get at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, and include both aerobic exercise (the kind that increases your heart rate and breathing) and resistance exercise (the kind that builds strength). Doing both, rather than one or the other, does a better job of decreasing insulin resistance and burning extra glucose -- two key factors for better blood sugar and a healthier, younger body.

Talk to your doctor or an exercise physiologist to develop a safe workout plan that'll get you moving. You may need to start slowly and build up, but that's fine. Also, choose a form of exercise that's convenient and fun to do. Explore different options until you find a workout you love.