At Diabetes Healthy Solutions, we are fully dedicated to help you learn how you can make changes that will end the common misconception that its hard or impossible to maintain a healthy diabetes diet, exercise regime and use natural remedies to control and treat diabetes. Exercise and diet have proven to be vital in the prevention and control of diabetes especially for people such as my husband and children who have an increased risk because of the history of diabetes in our family.
When my father in law passed away largely due to not maintaining himself and his diabetes, I knew that I didn’t want the same for my husband and kids. Therefore, I embarked on a journey to learn more about diabetes and help other people learn the importance of taking care of themselves too.
Exercise is particularly important for people who have type 1 diabetes because it prevents many serious diabetes complications including kidney disease and eye disease just to name a few. However, despite the numerous benefits of exercise for diabetes, recent studies show that only about 39% of type 2 diabetes patients get regular exercise.
What is the Importance of Exercise for Diabetes?
In case you have diabetes, you also face higher risk of some other health conditions including stroke, nerve, problems, kidney disease and heart attack. However, the risk of developing these conditions can be reduced by following recommendations for keeping blood sugar levels under control.
How does Exercise Help Diabetes? If you exercise regularly you’ll have:
- Lower blood pressure
- Decreased risk of stroke
- Lower blood sugar levels
- Better cholesterol levels
- Stronger bones
- Easier weight loss
- Improved ability to utilize insulin
- Decreased risk of most heart diseases
- Less chance of dizziness and falling
- Reduced stress levels
- More energy
- Less body fat
Moreover, if you are using insulin to treat diabetes, regular exercise can be integrated into the daily schedule that your doctor will develop, to help control your blood sugar levels.
How can you get moving quickly and easily?
Create a Diabetes Exercise Program that works for you!
- Find activities you like: Choose physical activities that you not only enjoy doing, but that are also convenient. You can also try new activities such as dancing, swimming, walking, or even bicycling.
- Create a schedule for your workouts: Exercise should be part of your schedule just like doctor appointment and work. Start slowly and aim to exercise for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour on most if not all days of the week.
- Gradually increase the intensity and duration: You can begin with a few minutes (15 to 20 minutes), and add a little distance, intensity or time to your workouts.
- Find a partner to join your exercise plan: This will boost your morale and make it less likely for you to skip a session.
- Keep an exercise journal: Be sure to record what you do each day and your blood glucose levels before and after working out. This way, you will notice when your blood sugar level falls and take appropriate measures (as recommended by your doctor) to avoid hypoglycemia.
Our core aim is to help you make healthy choices and improve your lifestyle so you can take back control and enjoy a more fulfilling life. Nobody should face diabetes alone, so we employ a variety of perspectives and resources to touch and improve every life.