Your body uses carbohydrates to create glucose, a type of sugar that circulates through the blood and serves as primary source of energy for every cell in your body. High blood sugar levels characterize diabetes, a condition, which if poorly controlled, can lead to a number of serious health problems like heart and kidney disease. Healthy lifestyle habits, like regular exercise, form a cornerstone of not only treating but helping to prevent diabetes. You should check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program, particularly if you take insulin or other blood-sugar lowering drugs.
Improved Insulin Sensitivity
Your pancreas produces the hormone insulin, which helps move glucose into the cells. The efficiency with which this hormone performs this task can become compromised by many factors, such as excess weight and poor diet. A study conducted at Duke University and published in the February 2005 issue of "Clinical Exercise Physiology" looked at the effects of exercise on increasing insulin sensitivity, or the body's ability to utilize glucose, in overweight and sedentary subjects. The study found that regular physical activity increased insulin sensitivity and lowered blood sugar levels. Participants stopped physical activity the last month of the study to determine if the effects persisted even when sedentary and insulin sensitivity was still 24 percent higher than before patients started exercising. The study found that exercise appears to benefit blood sugar levels in the short and long term.
Checking Blood Sugar Before, During and After Exercise
If you take insulin or other medications that control blood sugar, you must monitor your glucose levels if you partake in physical activity. You should take your blood sugar levels 30 minutes prior and right before a planned workout. A reading between 100 and 250 mg/dL indicates a safe range for exercise explains the Mayo Clinic. If you get a reading below this, eat a carbohydrate-rich snack to boost levels. If you test over 250 but under 300, check urine for ketones, a byproduct of using fat for energy. High levels indicate your body does not have enough insulin to monitor your blood sugar. Check with your doctor for guidance on ketone levels. Refrain from exercise completely when you read 300 or above.
If you plan on exercising for an extended amount of time, check your blood sugar every 30 minutes and stop exercising if you get a reading of 70 or lower and do not continue until you bring it back up.
Exercise and Low Blood Sugar
When you exercise, your body pulls glucose from your blood and brings it to your muscles as fuel. This can lower blood sugar levels too much and cause a variety of symptoms including dizziness, hunger, confusion, headache, fatigue, shakiness and weakness. You should always have sugar-boosting snacks on hand that equal about 15 g of carbohydrates. The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse recommends 3 or 4 glucose tablets, a serving of glucose gel, four ounces of a fruit juice or regular soda, a cup of milk or a tablespoon of sugar or honey. Wait about 15 minutes and check your blood sugar again; if it is still 70 or below, take another snack and repeat until you get the desired level.
Exercise Guidelines
While any type of physical activity is better than none, most expert panels recommend 2.5 hours of moderately-intense exercise a week says the Mayo Clinic. This equates to about 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. Moderately-intense exercise elevates your heart and breathing rate. If you walk, walk briskly. Other moderately-intense activities include swimming laps or bicycling.
