To learn more about exercise for diabetes, we spoke to Danine FrugeMD, ABFP, the medical director Pritikin Longevity Center.
What are the benefits of exercise for people with diabetes?
Physical activity is beneficial for all adults, including those with diabetes. “Exercise has many important benefits for diabetes, including increasing insulin sensitivity, improving blood sugar control, building muscle, losing body fat, building bone and muscle strength, improving balance and flexibility, lowering triglycerides and blood pressure , reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease complications such as heart attack, stroke and dementia,” says Dr. question
What are the best ways to use exercise to help control diabetes?
When fitness professionals talk about programming workouts, they often use something called the FITT principle, which stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. These four components characterize how your workouts in your fitness plan should look like for optimal effectiveness.
Frequency refers to how often you exercise, intensity is the exertion or stress level of the exercise, time is the duration or how long you exercise per session, and type is the type of exercise you do, e.g. B. running , gosome type of strength training, yoga, etc.
dr Fruge says the most important programming factor when trying to control diabetes is frequency — you should aim to be as consistent with your fitness routine as possible.
“Everyday is best, but try not to miss two days in a row. Aim for at least 15 minutes a day. At the Pritikin Longevity Center, we recommend walking or moving around 15 minutes after each meal or snack,” she says. “We recommend two workouts a day, morning and evening, which have amazing health benefits like lowering blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, and increasing energy, mood and mental alertness.”
dr Fruge says intensity is less important, especially in the beginning. “Start slow,” she suggests.
What are the best types of exercise for diabetes?
Regarding the best Type of exercises for people with diabetes says Dr. Fruge that your exercise regimen should be well-rounded with different types of exercise, just as it should be for someone without metabolic disease.
She advises a hybrid exercise protocol: “It’s best to add muscle-building activities along with cardio/aerobic activities, which together provide the greatest benefit for long-term glycemic control and healthy body composition and weight.”
The good news is that Dr. Fruge says that as long as your diabetes is properly managed, you shouldn’t feel restricted or restricted in the types of exercises you can do.
“If your diabetes is well controlled and you don’t have any major complications, you can enjoy all types of exercise,” she says. “I played Division I college tennis semi-doubles. My partner was a fit, well-controlled type 1 diabetic who knew exactly what she needed to do to perform well. I also ran the Disney marathon with a group of diabetics of all ages and types who completed the 26.2 miles with no complications.”
In addition, says Dr. Fruge that the type of diabetes you have doesn’t affect the type of exercise you can enjoy as long as your condition is under control and you don’t have serious complications like organ damage.
Are there certain sports that people with diabetes should avoid?
Although you should feel relatively unrestricted in your exercise choices when your diabetes is being treated, says Dr. Fruge that there are some precautions for people with diabetes who have uncontrolled blood sugar levels or other residual conditions from the disease.
“It is advisable to avoid strenuous, high-intensity, isometric exercise for diabetics with uncontrolled blood sugar, uncontrolled hypertension, moderate to severe heart disease, and/or complications such as peripheral neuropathy,” says Dr. question “And those with retinopathy should avoid exercises where the head hangs down.”
There aren’t too many types of head-down exercises, but if you have retinopathy, a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes, you may need to take extra precautions with many yoga inversions or stretches Hips and bend down (e.g. forward bend). Strength training exercises such as deadlifts may also be contraindicated.
Are there nutritional aspects for people with diabetes when exercising?
Properly fueling yourself with the before exercising is important, especially if you have type 1 diabetes right nutrients to control the release of glucose into your bloodstream.
“A type 1 diabetic should consume carbohydrates such as fruit, oatmeal, or sweet potatoes along with fiber from low-starch vegetables, beans, or protein to maintain stabilized blood sugar, especially during cardiovascular exercise,” she advises. “At the Pritikin Longevity Center, we offer delicious fresh small cups of fruit and veg in refrigerators side by side at the gym entrance to encourage our participants to eat fruit with veg, because fruit alone raises blood sugar quickly, but may not last long of training.
She also suggests using the wearable continuous blood glucose monitors that provide real-time feedback to guide your exercise plans and pre-exercise energy supply to optimize the safety and effectiveness of exercise with diabetes.
dr Fruge says that pre-workout nutrition and energy considerations are slightly different for people with type 2 diabetes.
“A type 2 diabetic can eat the same thing; However, if you are well controlled and interested in weight loss, you should eat low-starch vegetables like celery with carrots, cucumber, peppers, jicama, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. before your workout and skip fruit or starchy carbs,” suggests Dr . question “[For] for more intense or longer workouts, or for diabetics taking hypoglycemic medications like sulfonylureas or insulin, adding a healthy starch for pre-workout fuel may be beneficial.”
If you have diabetes and are concerned about exercising, you should speak to your doctor or endocrinologist for personalized recommendations on how to start a healthy fitness routine. It can be intimidating and overwhelming at first to exercise with diabetes, but Dr. Fruge says the benefits can be transformative for both your body and mind.
“In my 20 years of working with patients, I have had the honor and joy of witnessing not only remission but reversal of type 2 diabetes, and I have seen many type 1 diabetics without long-term complications [largely because of their physical activity habits]I never saw in the hospital.”
