Your body relies on blood glucose, commonly referred to as blood sugar, as a main source for creating energy in the cells. However, an imbalance of glucose can cause serious problems. One way that you can naturally help keep your blood glucose at a healthy level is through increasing the amount of aerobic exercise you perform each week.
High Blood Glucose
When glucose levels are allowed to get too high, serious consequences can occur. For example, high glucose levels are often associated with conditions like type 2 diabetes. With this form of diabetes, your body has issues in how it is able to utilize insulin, such as becoming insulin-resistant. Insulin is a necessary component for your cells to be able to remove glucose from the bloodstream and use it for energy. As your body becomes resistant to the insulin, your cells are no longer able to use glucose as efficiently, causing blood glucose levels to rise. As glucose levels get too high in the bloodstream, damage can occur to your vessels, which can lead to problems with circulation, as well as potentially serious problems like amputations, heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure and blindness.
Direct Effect
Aerobic exercise has a direct effect on blood-glucose levels because of the impact exercise has on energy use. When you exercise, you increase the amount of energy being consumed by your muscles. To continue working, your body must create new energy through pulling glucose from the bloodstream and using oxygen to burn the glucose for energy. When you exercise, you increase how quickly your body uses glucose, effectively lowering the levels in your bloodstream.
Indirect Effect
Aerobic exercise can also have an indirect effect on your blood-glucose levels. When you carry around excess weight, the additional fat contributes to your risks for insulin resistance, especially abodminal fat, according to the Mayo Clinic. The more excess fat you carry, the greater your risks. By including more aerobic exercise in your routine, you increase the number of calories you burn each week. Once the amount of calories you burn exceeds the number you consume through your diet, weight loss occurs. The more excess weight you lose, the lower your risks for insulin resistance, and the better your body can regulate your blood glucose.
Recommendations
To see the full benefits of exercise on your blood-glucose levels, it's important to include at least the minimum amount recommended by organizations like the American Heart Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These guidelines suggest that all Americans strive to include at least 150 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise in their routines each week. Moderately intense aerobic exercise includes activities such as walking, jogging, biking, swimming or hiking. For even more benefits, the CDC suggests increasing the intensity level of your exercise, or increasing the amount of exercise you perform each week to 300 minutes.
References
- InteliHealth: Health Problems That Diabetes Can Cause
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Physical Activity and Health
- Mayo Clinic: Prediabetes: Causes
- University of Michigan; Exercise Nearly as Successful as Drugs at Lowering Blood Sugar; Colleen Newvine
- Johns Hopkins Health Alerts: Diabetes and Exercise - Keeping Your Blood Glucose Levels in Check
- "U.S. News & World Report"; Structured Exercise Programs Help Lower Blood Sugar, Study Finds; Serena Gordon
