Many diabetes patients are unaware of the benefits that being active can provide to their blood sugar management. In this blog post, we will discuss five reasons why diabetes patients should exercise more often, and how it will help control your blood sugar levels.
Why Exercise?
Exercise has been shown to produce changes in glucose, insulin and other diabetes-related hormones.
It helps muscles work more efficiently which can prevent blood sugar from increasing too much after eating a meal. It also improves your body’s sensitivity to insulin, so cells will be able to take up glucose without needing as much of the hormone. Despite the diabetes medication some patients take, exercise can make it work even better.
Exercise also reduces your risk of type-two diabetes in the future and has been shown to reduce insulin resistance which is a major cause of type-two diabetes. There are plenty of other benefits that come from being active as well – including increasing energy levels and moods, reducing stress, and boosting your self-esteem.
#1: Being Active Can Help You Lose Weight
When diabetes patients are overweight, the excess fat cells in their body produce extra insulin to try and break down that stored fat for energy. This can cause blood sugar levels spike after eating even a small amount of food (which causes more hunger), so diabetes patients may feel hungry more often.
Not all diabetes patients are overweight, but being active can help regardless of weight because it will give your muscles a chance to burn away some glucose while you exercise so blood sugar levels stay at the appropriate level. This is especially important for diabetes patients who have Type I diabetes where their bodies don’t produce insulin and rely on taking in insulin to break down glucose.
#2: Being Active Can Help You Manage Stress
Stress is one of diabetes’s most common triggers, and it can create a vicious cycle. When you are stressed your body will release cortisol which tells the pancreas to stop producing insulin so that glucose levels do not get too low. The problem with this is if diabetes patients don’t have any food available, a lack of insulin may cause blood sugar levels to get too high.
The best way diabetes patients can break the stress cycle is by being active because it releases endorphins which make you feel better and less stressed. Exercise also helps diabetes patients sleep well so they will have more energy over time which means their glucose levels might be under control.
#3: Being Active Can Help Reduce Your Hormones
Type II diabetes is often caused by a person’s metabolism slowing down because their body can’t break down glucose for energy, and this causes insulin levels to rise. The problem here is that the higher your insulin levels are, the more likely it will be that you’ll store fat which will make diabetes worse.
Exercise can help diabetes patients to burn off fat cells which will lower their insulin levels, and it also helps diabetes symptoms like fatigue and depression. Exercise is a natural medicine that diabetes patients should not overlook if they want better blood sugar management now and in the long-term.
#4: Being Active Can Help You Keep Track of Your Blood Sugar Levels
Type I diabetes patients should test their blood sugar levels before and after they exercise to make sure it doesn’t go too high, but diabetes symptoms like fatigue may be keeping diabetes patients from doing this. There are a few ways that diabetics can still manage diabetes without testing if they have an AED (artificial pancreas diabetes treatment) or if they have an app on their phone that can track how much insulin is going into the body.
Type II diabetes patients should be testing themselves regularly to make sure blood sugar levels are within a healthy range, but exercise will help them keep it in check without needing to test as often. This is especially important because diabetes patients who have Type II diabetes and don’t test often can end up with metabolic syndrome which is when high blood sugar levels, fat cells, and insulin resistance are all present.
It’s also possible that diabetes symptoms like fatigue may keep diabetes patients from testing at the appropriate time after exercising so it’s even more important to make sure diabetes patients are being active.
#5: Being Active Can Help You Stay Motivated
Diabetes symptoms like diabetes fatigue can make diabetes patients feel discouraged from being active, but diabetes treatment in tampa florida is more than just physical. Exercise helps diabetes patients stay motivated because it makes them feel better about themselves and their bodies which will help keep diabetes under control as well.
Exercise for diabetes management may seem impossible, but it’s the best way diabetes patients can maintain their blood sugar levels and take care of themselves.
Tips To Help You Stay Active:
- Take the stairs! This can be a great way diabetes patients who are very active can get their heart rate up, and it’s also good for diabetes symptoms like depression.
- Don’t have time to go on long walks? Try walking in place or going for short walks around your neighborhood! Again this is really helpful if diabetes has made you feel too tired to exercise more.
- Make sure you bring your supplies in case you have a low blood sugar reaction. It’s also smart to carry snacks like an energy bar or fruit if diabetes symptoms make it hard for diabetes patients to balance out their meals and eat when they need too.
- Walk at lunch or before dinner. If diabetes symptoms like fatigue are making it difficult to go anywhere during the day, try to get up and walk around your office at lunch.
- Ride your bike to work or school.
- Use a standing desk if you have one and get up every half hour for a quick movement break.
Conclusion
Diabetes can be a difficult disease to live with, but there are things that diabetes patients can do like exercising which will help control blood sugar levels and improve their general health. Exercise does not have to mean going for long runs or spending all day at the gym–it could just be a few minutes of walking in place or going for walks around the neighborhood. It’s important diabetes patients find what works best for them, and if diabetes symptoms like fatigue are making it difficult to be active–it’s all about finding ways to stay motivated!
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