|
|
|
Diabetes and Exercise
December 18, 2008 |
Regular exercise can be the best preventative medicine. It can also be your biggest
weapon against diabetes.
“When you’re exercising you’re oftentimes using some of the biggest muscles in your
body. As an example your thighs, your leg muscles, and when you’re using those muscles,
the muscles they need a lot of sugar and they need a lot of sugar fast,” says Sharon
Tilbe, a registered dietitian with Lee Diabetes Care.
Along with helping control insulin levels, working out can help decrease your risk
of developing heart disease or having a stroke. These are all conditions that have
been linked to obesity. By burning calories through exercise you are benefitting
your overall health.
“If you happen to be fighting a weight problem and you happen to be trying to prevent
diabetes and you know if you lose some weight, with Type 2 diabetes, that might
help your condition. Certainly exercise is going to help you burn more calories.”
Sharon also says to try and make exercise fun and not so much of a chore. The important
thing is to try and do something active each day. “Don’t hesitate to get some exercise
every day. It doesn’t have to be the same thing like going to the gym or taking
the same walk or doing the same laps in the pool. Every day there should be something
on your mind that you can do to help burn some calories.”
Research shows exercise has the potential to reduce the severity of diabetes and
reduce the risk of long term complications. Aerobic exercise can help restore normal
glucose metabolism by decreasing body fat. |
|
|
|
|
|
