Written by – Jaya Pathak
Managing blood sugar level is the key aspect to care and prevent diabetes. For caring and prevention of diabetes, physical activities play a vital role. Exercise will not only help to regulate the glucose levels of your body but will also improve insulin sensitivity, reduce body fat and boost the cardiovascular health. American Diabetes Association says that aerobic and resistance training is quite beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes.
So, if you are seeking to manage prediabetes, diabetes or simply aiming to stay fit then include the right kind of exercise in your daily routine it can make a significant difference in maintaining the blood sugar levels in the body.
How physical activity help to control blood sugar levels?
Physical activity plays a crucial role. It can lower your blood sugar level. While performing all physical activity, insulin sensitivity is increased. Your muscle cells can use any insulin to take up sugar during and after the physical activity. During performing any physical activity, your muscles contract, your cells are able to take up glucose and use it for energy whether insulin is available or not. It is how physical activity can help to lower glucose level in short term. If you are performing any physical activity on a regular basis, it can lower your A1C.
The effect of physical activity varies depending on how long you are performing it and other factors as well. It can lower your sugar level up to 24 hours or more after your workout session by making your body more sensitive to insulin.
Therefore, you should become familiar with how blood glucose responds to exercise and check your sugar level more often before and after exercise. It will help you to see the benefits of performing physical activity. You can use the results to check how your body reacts to different activities and understanding of these patterns will help you to prevent sugar level from going too high or too low.
You can try these exercises to control blood sugar levels naturally:
- Brisk walking: It is one of the simplest and effective forms of aerobic exercise. A 30 minute session can improve insulin function and reduce fasting blood sugar levels. If you’re seeking a better result than you can choose a consistent pace and walk after meals.
The functional medicine expert and celebrity coach Vijay Thakkar says, “Notably, walking at speeds of 4 kilometre per hour or more is linked to a significantly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The study further quantifies this relationship, indicating that for each additional 1 kilometre per hour increase in walking speed above 4 kilometre per hour, there is a corresponding 9% decrease in diabetes risk.”
- Cycling: Cycling strengthens your body it helps to burn calories and improve glucose metabolism. Cycling promotes healthy blood sugar levels. Studies have shown that cycling for just 20 minutes can lower sugar level up to 25 mg/dl. Cycling makes glucose the main energy source of the body which helps to regulate blood sugar levels. The increasing insulin sensitivity through cycling decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes. A recent study shows that cycling should be recommended to all patients with type 2 diabetes as it offers amazing and significant benefits.
It can help those people who are at risk of developing diabetes to prevent their body from tipping over the edge. It improves the cardiovascular health. It will help to build your heart muscle strong. It can improve the vascular functioning and help to reduce fatty plaques in your arteries. If you have blood sugar issues, building muscle mass is quite essential. The longer you have type 2 diabetes, the lower your muscle mass will be which can cause a whole bunch of problem.
Cycling can help to build muscle in your body. Strong muscles can help you to become more sensitive to insulin which is essential to control blood sugar levels. - Swimming: Swimming helps to manage diabetes like any other exercise. It utilizes glucose present in the body and helps to reduce insulin resistance. As a result of which the sugar level lowers down and help to manage diabetes. But it is always recommended that one should consume light snack before they start swimming, particularly those who are on insulin.
The Olympic medalist Gary Hall Junior says in an interview that he would monitor his sugar level constantly and ensure to consume the right amount of carbs before swimming to avoid the risk of hypoglycaemia while in water. Nihar Ameen, a Dronacharya awardee says that swimming is the best exercise that one can get. It utilizes every single muscle in the body which helps in better glucose metabolism.
A study was published in BMC sports science, medicine and rehabilitation in 2021 which states that people with type 2 diabetes who practice swimming regularly have a positive effect on their cholesterol levels, BMI and body fat percentage compared to those who never practiced in swimming sessions. Regular swimming exercises can improve metabolism rates and boost mood which can further help people with diabetes management.
- Strength training: Scientists have found out that people with diabetes can benefit from regular weight lifting. In our study from 2023, individual with type 2 diabetes who did strength training alone showed more improvement in blood sugar level than those who did cardio alone. In other research, it is found that the best results for blood sugar control are associated with a combined routine of strength training and aerobic exercise.
Therefore, the American Diabetes Association recommended that in addition to perform at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week, adults with type 2 diabetes can do strength training at least two or three times per week. But before starting any new exercise routine, it is quite important for you to talk to your doctor about any special considerations you need to make.
Lifting weight will burn up blood sugar. It will improve glucose storage as your muscles serve as storage facilities for consumed sugar and carbohydrate. It will spur weight loss. It will target harmful belly fat which resides in and around the body’s visceral organs.
- Yoga: Yoga can reduce stress related glucose spikes by combining breath control, movement and mindfulness. Studies have shown that yoga is quite effective in regulating blood sugar levels as it increases insulin sensitivity and reduces levels of free fatty acids.
Yoga reduces body weight and body fat and improve glucose tolerance and lipid metabolism. Studies have also reported that the practice of yoga can reduce HB A1C levels, aiding the regulation of blood sugar levels. There are few yoga poses which can help you to maintain sugar levels in your body. You can practice yoga for three to five times a week for noticeable changes in your body.
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