If you have type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not produce adequate or any amount of insulin, the hormone necessary for regulating blood sugar levels. Poor blood sugar control can lead to a host of deadly complications including heart disease, kidney failure and blindness. While you cannot completely manage type 1 diabetes with lifestyle changes -- you must take insulin medication -- exercise forms an important cornerstone of keeping this condition in check. Consult with your doctor before beginning an exercise program.
Benefits
Exercise benefits diabetes on several fronts. It helps your body use insulin more efficiently and keeps blood sugar at healthy levels. Because of your increased risk of heart disease, you must take extra care to manage blood pressure, cholesterol levels and your weight -- exercise will help with all of these things. Aim for a minimum of 2.5 hours of moderately-intense exercise weekly -- you can accomplish this with 30 minutes of activity five days a week.
Checking Blood Sugar
Because you take medications to manage your blood sugar, you must check levels before, after and possibly during exercise, depending on the amount of time you exercise. MayoClinic.com reports that your blood sugar reading should fall between 100 and 250 mg/dL pre-exercise; check it about 30 minutes prior and just before your workout. If under 100, eat a piece of fruit or another fast-acting carbohydrate to give your glucose a quick boost. If you get a reading between 250 and 299, this indicates you might not have enough insulin to control your blood sugar during exercise. You need to test your urine for ketones, a substance your body produces when it burns fat for energy. High levels indicate insufficient insulin; your doctor can tell you what ranges indicate the appropriateness or inappropriateness of physical activity. Do not exercise if your blood sugar reads 300 or above until you get it down to the safe pre-workout range between 100 and 250.
If your planned exercise session will exceed one hour, check your blood sugar every 30 minutes and stop if it reads 70 or below. Do not resume exercise until it goes above this point.
Treating Hypoglycemia
When you exercise, your body draws sugar from your blood and carries it to the muscles for fuel. This can result in low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. Symptoms of low blood sugar include dizziness, confusion, shaking, hunger, irritability, sweating and nervousness. If you experience any of these feelings during exercise, consume a fast-acting carbohydrate snack that contains 15g of carbohydrates such as glucose tablets, half a cup of fruit juice or non-diet soda, or a few pieces of hard candy. You should also do this if you are checking your blood sugar levels during exercise and get a reading below 70, regardless of whether or not you experience any symptoms. Check levels after 15 minutes and repeat until you get a reading above 70. You should also consume carbohydrate-rich snacks after exercise if you experience any of these symptoms.
Adjusting Medications and Meals
To prevent blood sugar from dropping too low during exercise, you might have to reduce your insulin medications before bouts of activity. Dr. Barry Ginsburg, writing for "Diabetes Health" magazine, says that mild exercise like walking might only require a reduction of one or two units while more intense exercise might require you to cut your dosage significantly. Work with your doctor to determine changes to your dosages; it might take some trial and error to determine an optimal dosing schedule. Do not do this on your own. As for meals, you might need to adjust the timing of food intake and/or increase the amount of food you eat right before exercise as well as after. Again, this could take some trial and error before finding what works best.
