Diabetes and Exercise: How to Stay Active and Fit?

Diabetes is a chronic disease in which your body doesn’t use glucose or sugar correctly. It happens when the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, the hormone that moves sugar out of the blood and into cells, or when cells don’t respond to insulin as they should. In this article, we will discuss how exercise can help manage diabetes.

What are the types of diabetes?

There are two main types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2.

Type 1 diabetes is also called juvenile-onset or insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). It’s an autoimmune disease that occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks the beta cells in your pancreas, which produce insulin. If you have this condition, your body can’t make enough insulin on its own to keep a healthy blood sugar level. Type 1 diabetics must take daily injections of insulin to survive; otherwise they will become diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening condition that causes high blood sugar levels and body odor due to the increase in ketones produced by fats breaking down in the body without enough glucose present.

In type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough or can’t use what you make well enough to control blood glucose levels on its own (so you need to take medication). If your are also facing weight issues while being diabetic than you must start a healthy weight loss diet plan for diabetes after consulting your doctor.

How do you know if you have diabetes?

If you have diabetes, your body doesn’t make enough insulin or cannot use its own insulin effectively. This causes your blood sugar to be too high. When this happens, it can lead to serious health complications like heart disease and kidney disease.

The signs and symptoms of diabetes include:

• Increased thirst and frequent urination (especially at night).
• Extreme hunger that’s not relieved by eating.
• Unintended weight loss or gain that’s not due to dieting or exercise changes.* Fatigue/tiredness* Blurred vision

Diabetes and Exercise: How to Stay Active and Fit?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the way your body uses glucose. It’s important to stay active and fit to maintain good blood sugar control. Exercise can help you lose weight, improve blood sugar control and lower your risk of heart disease.

• Exercise on a regular basis: You should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise at least five days per week (or 20 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise three days per week). Try to increase your physical activity over time as tolerated.
• Eat right: A healthy diet is an important part of managing diabetes because it helps keep your blood sugar level under control by providing nutrients needed for good health while limiting calories from carbohydrates, fat or protein that may contribute to weight gain or make it harder for people with high levels of triglycerides (a type of fat found in blood) due to genetics or other factors such as poor diet choices caused by lack knowledge about how food affects their condition

Why is it important to stay active?

You may have heard that exercise is good for your health, but you might be wondering if it’s really worth the effort. The answer is yes! Exercise can help with weight management, blood sugar control and even depression and anxiety.

It can also help with joint pain (especially if you already have osteoarthritis), sleep quality (if you’re not sleeping well) or other health conditions like high blood pressure or heart disease. In fact, research shows that people who regularly participate in physical activity report feeling better overall than those who don’t exercise much at all!

How exercise helps with diabetes management?

Exercise can be a powerful tool in managing diabetes. It helps you lose weight, control blood sugar levels, manage cholesterol and stress levels, sleep better and more.

Here are some of the benefits of exercise for people with Type 2 diabetes:

• It helps burn calories that may otherwise be stored as fat around your midsection. This will help you maintain a healthy weight so that you have less risk of developing other complications such as heart disease or stroke later on in life.
• Regular physical activity improves insulin sensitivity which means that glucose enters cells more easily after eating (and thus helps lower blood sugar levels).
• Studies show that regular aerobic exercise reduces harmful fats known as triglycerides while increasing good HDL cholesterol levels in the body–both important factors when it comes to preventing heart disease!

What kind of exercise should you be doing for diabetes management?

As you know, there are many different types of exercise that can help you manage your diabetes. The most important thing is to find an activity that you enjoy and make sure it’s something that fits into your daily routine.

In general, aerobic exercise (like brisk walking) is good for improving blood sugar control and decreasing insulin resistance. Strength training can also help lower blood sugar levels by strengthening muscles around the abdomen (which helps regulate insulin production), as well as increasing lean body mass within those muscles (which helps burn fat). Stretching before a workout also increases flexibility in the muscles being stretched which helps prevent injury during physical activity

How does regular exercise improve your blood sugar control in diabetes patients?

Regular exercise improves blood sugar control in diabetes patients by:

• Reducing weight and body fat. The more you weigh, the more insulin your body needs to produce. Exercise will help reduce excess weight as well as body fat.
• Improving insulin sensitivity (the ability of cells to use glucose). Regular aerobic exercise helps improve insulin sensitivity, which means that your body requires less of this hormone for normal function. This can help delay or prevent type 2 diabetes from developing in people who are at high risk for developing it because they have impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). IGT is a condition where blood sugar levels rise after eating but remain below levels considered diagnostic for diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2).

Foods that help keep blood sugar levels in check post-exercise.

• Fruits and vegetables
• Whole grains
• Dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt)
• Protein (eggs, meat, fish)

Regular physical activity can help manage your blood sugar levels and weight.

Regular physical activity can help manage your blood sugar levels and weight.

Physical activity can:

• Help you lose or maintain a healthy weight.
• Lower high blood pressure, which is often associated with Type 2 diabetes.
• Lower cholesterol levels in people with Type 2 diabetes, reducing their risk for heart disease and stroke.
• Increase insulin sensitivity so that the body uses insulin more effectively to lower blood glucose levels after eating (this is called “insulin resistance”).

Conclusion

Now that you know the benefits of exercise and managing your diabetes, it’s time to get moving! The key is to find an activity that you enjoy doing and keep at it.

Katherine Williams