Exercising daily is a healthy lifestyle habit to formulate. Apart from improving your overall physical and mental health, daily exercise for diabetes can also help manage high blood sugar levels.
Therefore, people who exercise regularly can experience some ease in controlling their blood sugar levels. Though diabetes develops as a chronic disease and has no permanent cure, exercising can help prevent diabetes in the long run. When the insulin level increases, blood sugar levels also increase in the body. Often, there arises a situation when the body cannot produce the required insulin hormone, due to which sugar levels remain unregulated.
How does exercising help with diabetes?
Exercising is one of the most effective ways to control diabetes mellitus and bring blood sugar levels within the nominal range. In addition, doing physical activity is an essential treatment plan for managing chronic diseases like diabetes.
Moderate activity, such as walking, causes your heart to beat quicker and your breathing to become more complex. As a result, your muscles use more amount of glucose, a type of sugar found in your blood. This can help to reduce your blood sugar levels over time. It also improves the efficiency of your body’s insulin.
If you have diabetes, doing physical activity makes your body more responsive to insulin (the hormone that permits your body’s cells to utilize blood sugar for energy), which aids in diabetes management.
What are the exercises to control diabetes?
Exercising might help you manage your diabetes mellitus in surprising ways. For example, the following exercise for diabetes listed below can help you lose body weight, gain muscle mass, improve balance, decrease stress, and potentially lessen your need for injectable insulin.
- Running: Running is a great way to give a boost to your level of health. It is the best exercise for diabetic patients. It efficiently minimizes the glucose level in the body. Diabetic patients who ran for 10-15 minutes regularly have shown drastic changes in their sugar levels.
As per the National Institute of Health, running for 10-15 minutes has effectively reduced the blood sugar level. Running or jogging is recommended by all doctors for diabetes patients.
-
Swimming:
Swimming shows excellent results for people with diabetes. The most crucial advantage of swimming is that it strengthens all the major muscles in the body that could help control diabetes. Regular swimming helps burn down extra fat, keep the sugar level in control and help you become fit.
-
Cycling:
Cycling is a proficient way to keep your glucose level in check. The more you cycle, the faster the drop in blood sugar level. Regular cycling for 20-25 minutes and keeping a statement on your glucose level helps you live a healthy life.
-
Tai Chi:
Tai chi may prove to be a helpful exercise for diabetes. It originated in China. Tai chi is done through light movement of the body performed in a relaxed order. It is incredibly effective in combating diabetes. Studies have found that people who perform Tai Chi regularly have shown more significant results in reducing the glucose level in the body.
-
Yoga:
Yoga is the state of mind that relaxes your body and soul. It brings inner peace. It is an ancient form that builds flexibility and balance by incorporating fluid movements. Yoga is one of the most effective exercises for diabetes. It helps reduce the glucose level in the body and manage the insulin level.
Also read: 5 Herbal Remedies For Diabetes Mellitus
What should you always do before exercising?
- It is recommended to wear proper shoes while doing exercise for diabetes. Uncomfortable shoes make it hard to do the workout.
- Drink plenty of water while exercising
- Do check the temperature before exercising and do not exercise for diabetes in very hot or very cold temperatures.
- Do keep some snacks with you and keep having them at a regular interval of time.
- A proper posture while exercising is advisable. An improper pose may lead to cramps or other complications.
- Normal breathing while exercising is necessary for fluent blood flow.
- Do not over-exhaust yourself by doing intensive exercises
What is the best time of day for a diabetic to exercise?
In general, one to three hours after eating is the optimal time to exercise for diabetes mellitus since your blood sugar level is likely to be more significant. It’s critical to monitor your blood sugar levels before exercising if you use insulin. When It comes to blood glucose control, exercising at any other time of day is likely to be better advice for a person with diabetes than exercising first thing in the morning when fasting.
What is the best exercise to lower blood sugar?
Regular exercise improves the efficiency with which your body uses insulin. It’s possible that this will drop your blood sugar levels for up to 12 hours after you workout. Adults with diabetes should acquire at least 150 minutes of moderate to strenuous aerobic activity every week, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA).
Can diabetes be cured by exercise?
Although there is no permanent cure for diabetes, research suggests that it can be reversed in some people. You may be able to achieve and maintain normal blood sugar levels with medication or by making dietary adjustments and losing body weight. However, this does not suggest that you are entirely cured of diabetes.
Depending on the overall prevailing condition, the doctor may even suggest some common medications like Acarbose (Glucobay), Insulin Glargine (Lantus), or Sitagliptin (Istavel) along with healthy lifestyle for better recover.
Conclusion
Physical activity is essential not just for controlling type 2 diabetes but also for maintaining general health. Though exercising does not guarantee a permanent cure for diabetes, it can surely make it a manageable health problem in the long run. Always listen to your body while doing exercise for diabetes. Stop exercising if you get short of breath, dizzy, or lightheaded. If you experience any odd difficulties, consult your doctor at the earliest.
