Diabetes and Exercise

Let me tell you about a simple little magic trick I learned about diabetes while traveling on a road trip with my Type I diabetic friend.

Her blood sugar was running very high, so we stopped at a rest stop and she proceeded to run several laps around the grass field followed by several minutes of jumping jacks and calisthenics. She checked her numbers at the end of this little mini work out and they were magically within normal limits again! I had my eye on her the entire time and she had not given herself a shot of insulin.

How did you do that? I asked in shock

“Exercise is magic for diabetics” she smiled.

Exercise is not only important for diabetics for stress management, and cardiovascular protection, but it also works like free insulin in the body. Upon our return home I pulled up some research articles on this topic and found that exercise somehow makes the cells permeable to glucose without the need for insulin.

Wow! Exercise is magic for diabetics. For both Type I and Type II patients alike, starting an exercise program is imperative to a health diabetes prognosis. Those over the age of 50 should have an EKG done prior to starting any cardiovascular fitness regime. Please check with your doctor before making any changes.

To get started with a basic fitness plan you can read this article on EXERCISE.