Since receiving your diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, there is no doubt you have heard about the benefit of exercise. Too little activity leads to weight gain and contributes to insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels. Your muscles store glucose and when you are inactive, glucose remains unused in your muscles and therefore no more sugar is removed from your bloodstream. So any new glucose or sugar your body makes just floats around in your bloodstream as well.
Regular physical exercise can:
burn calories help with weight loss lower your blood sugar levels… muscles can take up glucose without insulin when you exercise help improve the sensitivity of your cells to insulin prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes if you are dealing with pre-diabetes lower your cholesterol and triglyceride levels lower your blood pressure reduce your stress levels reduce the need for insulin or anti-diabetic medications
The affect of exercise on your blood sugar levels is quite complex and depends on:
the length of exercise the intensity of the exercise your sugar levels when you begin your exercise the degree of insulin resistance you have
Exercise is a powerful tool for lowering blood sugars. It does this by burning up large amounts of sugar and improving the way insulin works… it improves insulin resistance.
It is also possible for blood sugars to rise during exercise but it is not the actual exercise that causes this. It can be caused by:
eating more than usual before exercising not taking enough insulin before exercising being under a lot of stress… adrenaline causes blood sugars to rise short bouts of strenuous exercise of activity during exercise do not bring about a change in insulin sensitivity low insulin levels in your body cause your liver to secrete extra sugar into your bloodstream. Without insulin the sugar remains in your bloodstream and your level rises. This insulin deficiency can occur if you forget to take your insulin, if your insulin is out of date or if you are coming down with an illness
No matter what the cause, if your blood sugar levels are high, it is wise to not continue exercising until your levels are under better control
There are different kinds of exercise and it is often difficult to predict what will happen with your blood sugar levels. You need to test before and after the type of exercise you do the most of, to see how it affects you.If you would like to download a free copy of my E-Book, click here now: Answers to Your Questions… it’s based on questions diabetics have asked me recently.Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your type 2 diabetes.http://drugfreetype2diabetes.com/blog
