Exercise for Blood Sugar

Physical exercise is essential for managing blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity. It is the only way to encourage cells to get rid of sugars and fats healthily by burning instead of storing them.

In diabetics and non-diabetics, physical exercise lowers blood sugar levels, increases glucose uptake into muscle and improves insulin sensitivity [1,2,3,4]. Cardio workouts (aerobic exercise) and strength or weight training can improve cell response to insulin, help control blood sugar levels [5], and burn fat [1]. Strength/weight training in particular can increase muscle mass, which encourages more sugar to burn.

To reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, at least 2.5 hours of moderate to vigorous exercise per week is strongly recommended.

For diabetics, vigorous cardio exercise should be done for a minimum total of 2.5 hours per week, spread out over 3+ days of the week. However, doing aerobic exercise more than 2 days in a row is not recommended. In addition to cardio, strength or weight straining should be done at least 2 to 3 days per week. A good plan would be to alternate between 50 minutes of cardio and strength/weight training every day. Milder exercise (yoga, flexibility training) may not show benefits for blood sugar management [6,1].

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Setting personal goals and exercising in groups can help to form new exercise habits in a more enjoyable and sustainable way.

 

Sources:

  1. https://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dc10-9990

  2. https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2016-000143

  3. https://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2165-7904.S5-003

  4. https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjdrc-2017-000414

  5. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00125-017-4406-0

  6. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.metabol.2019.04.003