Diabetes is a medical condition that occurs when your body does not make enough insulin or is unable to use insulin properly. Without enough insulin, your body has trouble breaking down the food you eat and converting it to energy you can use. Type I diabetes is usually diagnosed in children and young adults. Type II, which is the most common, is usually diagnosed later in life and can be caused by unhealthy lifestyle behaviors. Regular exercise is an important component of your diabetes management plan, but you must take precautions. The first step is to understand the effects of exercise on diabetes. Then talk to your doctor about the special precautions you may need to take before starting any exercise program.
Prevention of Diabetes
If you have your blood sugar levels tested often with a simple blood test, you may be able to catch this disease in its early stage, called pre-diabetes. At this point your blood sugar levels are starting to get high, but you do not have diabetes yet. The Diabetes Prevention Program tested thousands of individuals who had pre-diabetes. The goal was to see if exercise and diet could help to prevent diabetes as well as medication. Those who exercised 30 minutes per day at a moderate level reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 58 percent. Those who took medication reduced it by 31 percent. These results occurred in men and women of all ages and in a wide variety of ethnic groups.
Weight Loss and Better Insulin Use
Being overweight increases your risk of getting diabetes and the many complications that it can bring. The more food you consume, the more insulin your body needs to break it down. Regular aerobic type exercises, such as walking, swimming, biking and dancing, can all help to shed unwanted pounds. In addition, the American Council on Exercise states that exercise actually helps your body use insulin. After you exercise on a regular basis, your cells are more receptive to insulin, which means your body is better able to use the food you eat for energy. This can keep your blood sugar levels low and help keep your diabetes under control. Exercise also reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease. This is important because heart disease raises your risk of getting diabetes as well.
Lower Blood Sugar Levels
Regular exercise can help to bring your blood sugar or blood glucose levels down. While in most cases this is good news, you also need to take precautions. If you do not monitor yourself correctly, your level of blood sugar can drop dangerously low or even go too high. According to the American Diabetes Association, when you first start exercising you need to monitor how your body responds. You should test your blood sugar both before and after exercise. The ADA recommends to avoid exercise if you have type 2 diabetes and your blood glucose is 300 or above. At this level, exercise may make it go even higher. You should also avoid exercise if your blood sugar level is below 70. You also need to stop exercising if you become excessively hungry, thirsty, tired or dizzy. If your level drops too high or low you could go into shock and become unconscious, and both situations can be life-threatening. Drinking plenty of water, eating healthy before exercise and not overdoing it can all reduce your risk of complications.
References
- The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases: Diet and Exercise Dramatically Delay Type 2 Diabetes: Diabetes Medication Metformin Also Effective
- American Council on Exercise: Exercise and Type 2 Diabetes
- American Diabetes Association: Don't Let Diabetes Get In Your Way
- National Institutes of Health: Type 2 Diabetes
