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by Michelle Sutton-Kerchner
Along with a healthy diet, a commitment to fitness helps prevent type 2 diabetes. Here’s how …
A nutritionist once said we all should behave as if we have diabetes. It’s a healthy way to live for anyone. A nutritious, low-sugar diet and daily exercise help avoid a future diagnosis of diabetes as well as reverse symptoms in those already diagnosed. Whether you are genetically predisposed, have risk factors, or simply battle a sweet tooth, exercise can be powerful in warding off this leading chronic disease.
Exercise’s Sweet Effect
Exercise helps prevent type 2 diabetes by:
• maintaining healthy blood glucose (sugar) levels.
The amount of sugar in the bloodstream is reduced during a workout because muscles require it.
• allowing cells to use glucose more effectively.
This results from decreased insulin resistance when you exercise.
• maintaining/establishing a healthy weight.
Nine out of 10 diagnosed with type 2 diabetes are overweight or obese.
Along with accumulating excess body fat, a lack of exercise impacts blood-sugar regulatory functions. This is why overweight or obese individuals are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes or prediabetes.
Through a commitment to exercise, healthy nutrition, and possibly oral medication, many ward off progression of this disease, including the need for insulin injections. Some even manage to reverse type 2 diabetes so all symptoms go into remission.
Additional Benefits of Exercise
Type 2 diabetes predisposes one to a variety of secondary health issues. Exercise helps establish total-body health, reducing diabetic dangers in those at risk.
Weight gain: Not only is being overweight a risk for diabetes, it also can be an outcome. The body’s struggle to properly metabolize sugar can lead to further weight gain.
Heart disease: Diabetes nearly doubles one’s risk of having a heart attack. Exercise strengthens the cardiovascular system and promotes heart health. It lowers bad cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglycerides, which helps prevent clogged arteries that can lead to stroke or heart attack.
Poor circulation: Over time, diabetes can cause poor blood circulation from damaged blood vessels. Exercise improves blood flow, including to extremities like feet that are commonly affected by neuropathy.
Stamina: Fatigue is a common symptom in diabetic individuals. When blood circulation is diminished because of excess sugar, cells do not get oxygen needed for energy. Working out improves circulation and increases energy. It also allows easier performance of daily physical activities, which means less energy is needed for basic tasks.
Recommendations
Experts suggest increasing physical activity as well as exercise. Move more throughout your day and establish a daily fitness routine. (It is okay if you need to start with only a 10-minute workout.) Aim for at least 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. Do not skip your workout more than two days in a row.
Along with an evolving cardio routine, incorporate plenty of strength training. Muscles use the most glucose so be sure to develop lean, efficient ones! Along with a buff body, simultaneously muscle up for healthier blood sugar levels.
Diabetes causes more deaths per year than breast cancer and AIDS combined. Talk with the Center’s personal trainers for fitness tips. They can help customize a workout to maximize your body’s ability to prevent type 2 diabetes as well as many other conditions.
Important
If you suspect you have diabetes or any other health condition, please visit your physician prior to beginning an exercise program.
Sources
American Diabetes Association at diabetes.org.
“Exercise Makes It Easier to Control Your Diabetes,” by Lisa M. Leontis at endocrineweb.com.
“Smart Moves: Exercise Tips to Manage Your Diabetes,” by Kara Mayer Robinson at webmd.com.
