How Regular Exercise can Help Diabetics

Regular exercise is one of the effective natural ways to treat diabetes. Besides the usual benefits related to blood sugar, blood pressure, weight loss; diabetics exercising regularly are less likely to suffer from a stroke or heart attack than those who do not. Diabetic men and women who were undergoing strength training were observed in a study. It was found that regular exercise can help with diabetes dramatically as the blood sugar of these participants in the study improved significantly within 16 weeks of exercise.

With the positive impact of exercise on blood sugar, blood pressure and weight, exercise is an activity that must be included in the routine of diabetes management. Exercise does not mean those that involve strength building or muscle development. Cardio exercises also help to improve the symptoms as effectively. So, you can include walking or jogging as an effective exercise for treating diabetes. These two exercises can be performed together or in isolation for treating diabetes.

How you can fight diabetes with regular exercise

Insulin is secreted from the pancreas when the level of sugar in the blood (blood glucose) increases. It happens right after eating too. The function of insulin is to stimulate the muscles and liver to absorb the excess blood glucose, hence lowering its level. When you exercise, the body requires additional energy which is available in the form of glucose. If this activity is for a short period of time, such as rushing to catch the bus or short-term exercise, the liver can be used for releasing glucose to be used as fuel.

However, if you take to continued moderate exercising, your muscles become inclined to absorb glucose 20 times more than what irregular casual exertion does. Thus, with moderate exercise over a period of time, your blood sugar level is lowered.

Besides its health benefits regarding blood sugar, blood pressure, and weight loss, diabetics exercising regularly have been reported to be under lesser risk of having a heart attack or stroke compared to those who do not.

When should you not exercise? If your blood sugar is above 250 mg/dL and you are ketones positive then it is considered a bad idea to exercise. Exercise could do more harm to your body than good at these levels. If your blood sugar is above 300 mg/dL but you are not ketones positive, then it would be advisable to exercise carefully. While exercise is certainly a great method of natural improvement, you do not want to do it when your body cannot handle the stress.

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