My doctor told me exercise helps with Type 2 diabetes – can you tell me why?
Type 2 Diabetes is a chronic disease. It’s caused by the body’s inability to produce or use insulin.
Diabetes can lead to serious health problems. Issues like heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, and even death. It does this by causing high levels of blood glucose which can cause damage to your body.
Type 2 diabetes can be managed and even put into remission with the help of exercise and a healthy diet.
If this is the case, how does exercise help with Type 2 Diabetes?
Exercise helps people by helping them control their blood sugar levels. Working out will also help diabetics lose weight. Weight loss reduces the risk of developing more severe health concerns.
Exercise increases insulin sensitivity so that the body can better use the insulin it produces.
Insulin is an important hormone. It’s created in the pancreas. It helps cells absorb glucose from the blood. All the cells of the body need insulin to tell them when to allow glucose in for energy.
Insulin resistance causes Type 2 Diabetes. Insulin resistance causes the cells to ignore the insulin signal. The cells won’t open up to allow the glucose in and the glucose stays in the blood which will cause high blood sugar levels.
The pancreas produces extra insulin to encourage the cells to react. This ends up having the opposite effect.
The body cannot produce enough insulin to keep up with the increased demand. As a result, blood glucose levels increase. At the same time, the body struggles to maintain enough energy levels.
Exercising can help reduce and regulate your blood sugar level and improve your health.
I know, some of you reading this are thinking “I HATE EXERCISE!!!” So we wrote an article for you about this, here.
But how does exercise help with Type 2 Diabetes?
Your body needs more fuel, often in the form of glucose from your bloodstream when you are exercising. Whenever you move your body or take a short walk, your muscles and liver use glucose for energy. This brings the level of glucose in your blood down. You’re using it instead of storing it.
It is important to note that after exercise, your blood sugar levels may drop.
If you are taking diabetes medication, consult with a physician before planning any new exercise routine. A medication change might be helpful to prevent low blood sugar.
All kinds of workouts can help with countering the effects of Type 2 Diabetes.
There are specific types of exercise that can provide more benefits for Type 2 diabetics. Walking and resistance training are especially helpful.
Even a 10-minute walk per day can lower blood sugar1https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/lower-blood-sugar-take-10-minute-walk-meals-study-says/.
Aerobic exercise can lead to a reduction in triglyceride levels, blood pressure, and A1C test results. These are important markers for people with diabetes. This shows the average blood sugar level over the previous two to three months.
Resistance training counters the effects of poor muscle strength in diabetics. It’s a remedy for those who have generally poor muscle strength or poor muscle tone.
It replaces fat with muscle, so it is also known to improve insulin sensitivity, and glucose tolerance and decrease appetite.
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Her tragic family history of Type 2 Diabetes, and her own diagnosis of prediabetes in 2021 caused her to research more deeply, leading to a passion in educating people on how to hopefully put this disease into remission.
