Exercise is nature’s insulin sensitiser, meaning it makes your body more sensitive to the effects of insulin. Muscle and fat cells act like sponges, absorbing glucose from the bloodstream and transporting it into cells, which lowers blood sugar levels. This process is particularly beneficial for people with type 2 diabetes, where muscles may be unable to absorb glucose as they normally should.
Regular exercise is more effective than any medication for improving insulin resistance. To understand how exercise helps regulate type 2 diabetes, it’s important to first understand what goes wrong in the body to cause the disease.
Over time, the body becomes less responsive to the hormone insulin. As a result, muscles don’t take up glucose as they normally would. The body tries to compensate by producing more insulin, leading to the pancreas—the organ that secretes insulin—becoming exhausted and unable to produce enough insulin.
Physical activity not only helps regulate blood sugar and insulin but also wards off common complications of diabetes, such as heart disease and nerve damage. Both aerobic and strength exercises, performed at any time of day, are beneficial for increasing insulin sensitivity. The key is to incorporate any type of exercise whenever you can.
Post-Meal and Evening Workouts Are Best
Studies have shown that exercising after eating a meal is the most effective way to optimize glycemic control. After a meal, blood sugar levels spike, but a post-meal workout can help reduce these spikes by prompting muscles to absorb more glucose. Since dinner is typically the largest meal of the day, exercising in the afternoon or evening is slightly better for managing glucose levels than exercising in the morning. Evening exercise benefits can even last until the next morning.
Mixing Up Exercise Activities
A combination of cardio, strength, and flexibility exercises is best, especially as people get older. Each type of exercise offers unique and important benefits: cardio improves cardiovascular health, strength training maintains muscle mass, and flexibility exercises help with balance and preventing falls.
If you can only pick two, prioritize cardio and strength training. Doing both strength and aerobic exercise provides the best benefits for glucose control. Mixing up your exercise routine can also keep it interesting and allow you to work out at the time of day you prefer, even if it isn’t post-meal or in the evening.
Breaking Down Exercise into Smaller Increments
One common barrier to exercise is time. Studies have shown that breaking down exercise into smaller increments throughout the day is just as effective, if not more so, than one continuous workout. For example, doing 15 minutes of exercise after each meal can be as beneficial as a single 45-minute session.
A 2021 study found that even opting to take the stairs reduced the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which includes type 2 diabetes. Simple activities like marching in place, climbing stairs, or doing strength training for just 5 or 10 minutes several times a day can significantly improve blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.
Exercise is hands down the best medicine for diabetes. However, it should still be used alongside a healthy diet and, if needed, medication.
Incorporating regular physical activity into your daily routine can make a significant difference in managing and even reversing the effects of type 2 diabetes. So, lace up those sneakers and get moving towards better health!
