The Role of Exercise in Diabetes
Is Exercise Good for Diabetes?
Experts recommend that people with diabetes, regardless of severity, must engage in some moderate-intensity physical activity or exercise.
There are many benefits of exercise, It aids in weight loss or maintenance, lowers blood pressure, lowers harmful LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, raises healthy HDL cholesterol, strengthens muscles and bones, reduces anxiety, and improves overall well-being.
Weight reduction alone with the help of exercises can help people to manage diabetes as it helps to reduce insulin resistance.
How Does Exercise Help With Diabetes?
When you exercise, your metabolism is regulated, and blood sugar is broken down and used by your muscles in a process called glucose uptake. And this is how it helps people with diabetes to improve their sugar.
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Being active makes your body more sensitive to insulin (the hormone that allows cells in your body to use blood sugar for energy), which aids in diabetes management.
Diabetes When to Exercise?
One to three hours after eating is the best time to exercise because your blood sugar level is likely to be higher. It is critical to test your blood sugar before exercising if you use insulin.
If your sugars are under tight control it is always safe to check your sugars and have a snack if it is on the lower side.
Best Exercises for Diabetes
Aerobic (cardio), resistance, and combined training (doing both) are all equally effective at lowering HbA1c levels in people with diabetes. People frequently claim that cardio only burns fat and strength training only builds muscle.
In reality, both types of exercise have numerous advantages, and it is recommended that everyone (regardless of age, gender, or fitness goals) engage in both on a regular basis.
Strength training is considered a key element to managing diabetes better. When you do strength training to build muscle, you increase the uptake of glucose by your muscles and help regulate your blood sugar levels.
How Much Exercise to Prevent Diabetes?
It is recommended that a person perform 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week or 60 minutes of high-intensity cardio per week.
Benefits of Exercise for Diabetes
Strength training exercises are designed to strengthen your muscles. Muscle mass can be lost if muscle strength is not properly maintained (sarcopenia).
Diabetes has been shown to accelerate this process, resulting in poor muscle health over time. Muscle contraction is required for every activity we perform.
As a result, while exercises like walking and jogging can help build cardiorespiratory endurance (the ability of our hearts and lungs to carry out any activity for extended periods of time), doing so alone may not be beneficial. This must be combined with training our muscles to do the same.
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