Why Is Exercise Important For Type 2 Diabetes
Exercises have been considered to be one of the most important ways of maintaining good health from the ages. Hence it is no doubt that exercises will help to control and reduce diabetes considerably including Type 2 Diabetes. How physical activities help to lower blood glucose level can be best understood if we know the causes of diabetes.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a problem that is tormenting individuals of all age groups around the world. It can happen to anyone at any time. So if you can understand the problems that are related to diabetes you can easily understand why doctors recommend exercises at the very start to control your blood sugar level. But what is diabetes? It is a condition when there is enough glucose in your blood but it is not utilized by the body properly and so the level of glucose rises up making you a diabetes patient.
Insulin production
You must be thinking why does not the body use the glucose when it is available? This is because the insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas is either not enough to open the cells of the body to allow glucose to enter which is used as energy resources or your body may not be reacting to the insulin produced by your pancreas in which case also, the blood glucose remains in the blood itself and gradually rises high for it remains unused by the body. It is for these two reasons that you suffer from diabetes.
There are mainly two types of diabetes namely Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes which is the most common type and is somewhat a chronic problem that lingers for life. Hence it is very important to treat Diabetes in the best possible ways to stay healthy and enjoy life like all others. In Type 2 Diabetes, the body fails to produce sufficient insulin and it may also happen that the cells are insulin resistant.
Visiting the doctor
When you visit a doctor complaining about your problems of weakness, frequent urination, dizzy feeling etc the first thing that he advices you is to go for a blood test to ascertain the blood sugar level, whether it is too high or within the normal range or it is on the rise. Accordingly he prescribes certain medicines and he emphasizes on physical exercises the most along with diet control and certain lifestyle changes.
Exercises to Check Diabetes
It has been proved that exercises make it easier to keep a check on diabetes. So anybody who is suffering from diabetes, do not sit back in dismay, rather get up and visit your nearest gym and talk to the professional instructor who can design your exercise routine according to your requirements and what suits you the best. Physical activity is one of the most important components of Type 2 Diabetes treatment plan.
How Does Exercise Affect Blood Sugar?
1. During exercise, the body requires extra energy and that is supplied by blood sugar or glucose. Even when you do something quickly, the muscles and liver release glucose for fuel. The maximum amount of glucose is used when you do moderate exercise for a long period of time like hiking. Your blood sugar level goes down through these movements. Thus it has been proved that physical activities especially exercise help to reduce diabetes problems.
2. During your workouts the muscles can use the glucose present in the body without insulin. It does not matter whether you are insulin resistant or you do not have enough insulin. When you exercise, the muscles get the glucose they need automatically thereby reducing the blood sugar level. It has been found that if you are insulin resistant, exercise makes your insulin more effective because the insulin resistance goes down and the cells can use the glucose more effectively.
3. Exercises can also help people with Type 2 Diabetes avoid and reduce long-term problems. Most diabetics have blocked arteries that lead to cardiac arrest. Exercise reduces chances of heart attacks by keeping the heart healthy and strong by lowering glucose level.
4. There are other reasons of diabetes namely tension, stress, overwork and lack of rest and peace of mind. Exercise has an amazing effect not only on the body but also the mind. You will often hear people speaking about feeling rejuvenated and fresh after doing their workouts. This also helps to combat diabetes.
5. Exercises help to reduce weight too since overweight individuals are often diabetics. So by losing weight through workouts, you can control diabetes also.
Importance of professional help
When your doctor advice you follow a fitness routine, he also tells you that you should do those exercises which are perfect for you. But how will you know which exercises are best for you? It is the professional health instructor who will design your exercises in the correct way so that your aim of reducing blood sugar level is successful.
All kinds of exercises are not fit for a person with diabetes especially if the sugar level is quite high. In such cases, the doctor and the experienced instructor sit together and decide on the moves that will benefit the patient greatly.
What kinds of Exercises are recommended?
There are three main kinds of exercise namely strength training, flexibility work and aerobics. All the three kinds of exercises are organized in a balanced way by your personal instructor to achieve the most.
Aerobic Exercises: It is best to start with aerobic exercises because they are light and the basics of exercise that you can do on your own. These exercises include walking, running or jogging and sports like tennis, swimming, basket ball and biking. Any of these exercises must be done regularly for at least 30 minutes. If you cannot do it at a stretch, break it into 10 minutes each but try to complete the total 30 minutes. It may be difficult at first, but with practice you can easily achieve that for you have to reduce your glucose level.
Strength Training: When you become used to aerobic exercises and do not feel much strain, you will be started on strength training. This training builds up lean and efficient muscles for which you need a lot of energy that is supplied by the glucose in your blood and thus reduces sugar level. So the more you use glucose, the better it is for your diabetes control. Pull-ups and push-ups are often recommended by trainers. Lifting weights for 20 to minutes twice or maximum thrice a week is enough to get full benefits of strength training for diabetes control.
Flexibility Training: Of the various types of exercises stretching is one of the most important flexibility exercises that allows one to ascertain how well the joints and muscles can work and also ascertain their strength levels. By doing the various stretches, you again consume a lot of energy that is derived from the glucose in your blood and reduces the level of sugar which is the main aim of exercise in Type 2 Diabetes.
The final word about exercises to help reduce Type 2 Diabetes is that you must do your workouts willingly and enjoy every movement. Motivate yourself and stick to your plan to enjoy amazing results of exercises in reducing Type 2 Diabetes.
Written by Kevin Angileri