Walking can help to lower your blood sugar both acutely and chronically. Walking is one of the most effective exercises that you can do to help control your blood sugar. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends participating in aerobic exercise, such as walking, three to four days per week for 20 to 60 minutes at a moderate intensity. This type of program will offer you better control over your blood sugar and will minimize complications due to diabetes.
Short-Term Effects
When you exercise, your body takes in glucose. Normally, glucose moves from your blood and into your cells via a hormone known as insulin. However, during exercise glucose can move into your cells through a non-insulin-mediated mechanism. The repetitive and rhythmic contraction of muscles that comes with walking stimulates a response inside your muscle cells. Glut-4 transporters move to the exterior of muscles cells and work to bring in glucose from the blood during exercise. In the short-term, this results in an immediate decrease in blood sugar from walking.
Hypoglycemia
Walking encourages the movement of glucose from the blood and into cells, so hypoglycemia is a risk during exercise. Hypoglycemia is a dangerous reduction in blood sugar. Walking for exercise with too low of a blood sugar can result in this condition. Before walking, test your blood sugar. If your blood glucose is less than 100 mg/dL before walking, ingest 20 to 30 g of carbohydrates before starting, then retest. The ACSM recommends exercising only when your blood glucose is above 100 mg/dL. After exercise, there lies a risk of hypoglycemia again. Test your blood glucose after you are done walking; it should be greater than 80 mg/dL. Take a carbohydrate-rich snack with you on your walk to consume if you develop signs of hypoglycemia. Signs and symptoms include drowsiness, crying, fainting, sweating, dizziness, hunger, fatigue, moodiness, blurry vision, confusion, delusions, headache, anxiety, bad coordination, slurred speech and double vision.
Long-Term Effects
A regular walking program, done for exercise, can elicit long-term benefits involving your blood sugar. Walking can lead to improvements in glucose tolerance and an increase in insulin sensitivity in diabetics. Since insulin sensitivity is lost with diabetes, this is an encouraging adaptation of walking. You may also be able to reduce diabetes medications that you are taking, including insulin.
Exercising Safely
Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program, including walking. Avoid walking if your blood glucose is too high or too low. Your blood glucose should be greater than 100 mg/dL but lower than 250 mg/dL. If you walk late in the evening, after dinner, you may need to snack before bedtime to avoid hypoglycemia while you sleep. Work closely with your doctor, registered dietitian or exercise physiologist to come up with an appropriate walking program for your needs and abilities.
References
- "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription"; Mitchell H. Whaley, PhD, et al.; 2006
- "Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and Its Applications"; George A. Brooks, et al.; 2005
