Diabetes MYTH #6 to Demystify To Help Save Your Life

Myth #6 I Am Taking Medicine so Exercise Is Not Important In The Management of My Diabetes

Introduction

This is not true at all for even though you are taking medication, exercise helps in controlling the blood sugar better. Not only that. Physical activity also helps one to lose unwanted weight and makes the insulin work more effectively. Exercise is especially important for people with diabetes.

Why Is Exercise Important for People With Diabetes .

Healthy eating, moving more and taking medications create the foundation for managing diabetes. Quite a few studies have found out that those who exercise do better at keeping their sugar levels within target range and and lose weight more easily too. And these two things, losing weight and keeping the blood sugar under control are what help delay and prevent complications. Those with pre-diabetes get the same benefits too.

Diabetes experts say that studies after studies have shown that those who monitor their blood sugar diligently, eat healthy and take their medication do not do well when they leave out physical activity in their regimen. They don’t get the same benefits from their treatment plan when they do not exercise.

Benefits of Regular Physical Activity

1. Lowers the high blood pressure which almost half of people with diabetes suffer from.

2. Increases the HDL which is the good cholesterol and lowers the LDL which are the bad ones. Thus the risk to develop heart disease is lower which is good news since two of every three diabetics die from stroke or heart disease.

3. Makes the quality of sleep better thus helps with stress management.

4. Makes one more energetic during the day.

5. Boosts one’s circulation especially in the feet and so contributes to tissue and bone health.

6. Builds up muscle and while it does, it burns more calories.

Here's a video on the Best total body exercise for type 2 diabetes - Level 1 Before you do this set of exercises, heed the warning at the start of the video. Consult with your doctor first.

Exercise Prescription

How much exercise to do is the first part of an exercise prescription. Here’s what the doctor ordered. Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week. The sugar is drawn out from the blood stream when the muscle is exercised. This can continue on for up to twelve to seventy two hours after exercise. Exercise done every day or even every other day will help regulate the glucose level continuously.

The second part of the exercise prescription is the length of the physical activity. When just starting to exercise, just start slow as doing too much too soon could end up with injury. If your doctor has given you a clearance, then you can walk five or ten minutes at a time , three times a day. After two or more weeks you can graduate to walking twenty to thirty minutes a day.

Now let’s deal with the third part of the exercise prescription. What kinds of exercise can one do? Experts say that any form that raises the heart rate, employs the large muscles, and increases the breathing is good. So these include weight training, aerobic exercise and such household chores like vacuuming.

Here are some recommended physical activities:

Walking

Bicycling

Swimming

Taking an exercise class

Jogging

Rowing

Cleaning the house

Line dancing or ballroom dancing

Downhill or cross country skiing

Ice Skating

Mowing the lawn

Pushing a stroller

Golf on the nine holes

Jumping Rope

Hiking

Climbing the stairs or a hill

Test your blood sugars often. In fact test it before and after a physical activity. Stagger the testing so the experts say. For example if you walk thirty minutes a day, test the blood sugar at the end of the walk. On the second day, test the blood sugar half an hour after the walk and on the third day, test the blood sugar one hour after the walk. You may have to make adjustments as sometimes you may see your blood sugar drop by forty points.

If you have a physical limitation, ask your doctor for what exercise you can do. Even if you have complications, you can still exercise but of course you have to make some modifications to your exercise. If you hate exercising, pick one activity that you enjoy. Perhaps you can mix it up. Walk two days and bike around the third day or go swimming the next day.

Conclusion

So there you have debunked Myth #6. You now know exercise is important for managing your diabetes. Just because you’re taking medicine you think that will do it. No, for exercise is part and parcel of the whole treatment plan for you could be eating healthy, taking medication but without the exercise, the odds are you may not succeed. So get going and move!

By Roger Guzman, M.D. and Evelyn Guzman

Reverse Diabetes Today Unconditionally Guaranteed to Normalize Your Blood Sugar Levels and Reverse The Root Cause of Diabetes!

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