Diabetes Wellness Education and Exercise
Does exercise help diabetes?
Absolutely! Exercise does help
diabetes. There are many indications
that a balanced diet and exercise
can prevent or delay type 2
diabetes. Diabetes wellness
education experts maintain that
exercise can reduce dependence
on insulin injections and offers
three major health benefits
to diabetics:
Exercise helps burns calories
– 97% of type 2 diabetics need
some type of weight management
program. Exercise decreases
your appetite and help you burn
calories, reducing fat and increasing
muscle mass.
Exercise improves the
body’s response to insulin -
Excess weight contributes to
insulin resistance because too
much fat interferes with muscles'
ability to use insulin. As you
exercise and practice sound
diabetic weight management,
your body’s response to insulin
can improve.
Exercise reduces the risk of
heart disease - Exercise can
lower fat levels, cholesterol
levels, and blood pressure,
which are factors related to
heart disease. Exercise also
increases the production of
a type of cholesterol, called
HDL, which protects against
heart disease.
What precautions should diabetics take when starting a diabetes wellness and exercise program?
Diabetes wellness education and exercise guidelines caution that infrequent, strenuous
exercise can strain muscles and
the circulatory system, increasing
the risk of a heart attack during
exercise. Diabetics should meet
with their doctors before starting
weight management and exercise
program. Each diabetic has their
own wellness and exercise needs.
Your doctor can decide how much
exercise is safe.
Best type of exercise for diabetics is aerobic activity. Walking is great exercise,
especially for an inactive person,
and it's easy to do. A person
can start their diabetes exercise
program by walking for 15 or
20 minutes, three or four times
a week and gradually increase
the speed or distance of the
walks. Other aerobic activities
to include in your diabetic
weight management program are
jogging, hiking, skating, tennis,
rowing, jumping rope, aerobic
dancing, ice hockey, cross-country
skiing, swimming, bicycling,
basketball, stationary cycling,
and stationary running. Diabetics
taking oral drugs or insulin
need to remember that strenuous
exercise can cause dangerously
low blood glucose and they should
carry a food or drink high in
sugar for medical emergencies.
Lastly, diabetics participating
in a diabetes wellness and exercise
program should wear an identification
bracelet or necklace whenever
they go out exercising to alert
a stranger that the wearer has
diabetes and may need special
medical help in an emergency.
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