Type 2 Diabetes - Exercise Helps Improve Insulin Sensitivity and Blood Sugar Levels!

Exercise or physical activity is just as important as diet and, in some cases, as important as drugs in managing Type 2 diabetes. Physical activity is recommended as a powerful way of preventing and treating Type 2 diabetes because it:

lowers blood sugar and improves insulin sensitivity,lets you store more blood sugar,burns more body fat,keeps weight off,dramatically reduces the risk of heart disease,prevents or delays Type 2 diabetes,reduces stress,prevents or delays retinopathy,prevents or delays neuropathy.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Nord-Trondelag University in Norway, Mid-Sweden University, and the Hormone Laboratory at Oslo University Hospital, Aker, Norway, studied two types of exercise: endurance resistance training and maximal resistance training, to determine what type might be better for preventing various conditions.

Resistance exercise: This is the kind of exercise in which the muscles are worked against a physical force. Lifting weights and doing push-ups are classic examples of resistance movements. In lifting weights the exerciser is working the muscles against the force of gravity pulling down on the weights. Push-ups allow the whole body, being pulled down by gravity, to present resistance against the arm muscles.

Resistance training: Endurance resistance training involves working the muscles against moderate forces with many repetitions, while maximal training of this type consists of working the muscles against the most force possible for a relatively short amount of time.

Study Results: The study, published in the Journal of Strength Conditioning Research in January 2012, included 18 participants with really poor ability to handle dietary sugar...

one group engaged in maximal resistance training, whilethe second group was assigned endurance resistance training.

Both types of exercise were found to be beneficial. By the end of the study participants in the maximal resistance training group showed:

lowered blood sugar levels,reduced insulin resistance, andlowered C-peptide levels (C-peptide is produced along with insulin, and high levels can mean that the body is struggling against insulin resistance).

Volunteers in the endurance resistance training group showed:

reduced levels of insulin,better insulin sensitivity, andimproved pancreatic function,as well as improved ability of their muscles to take in sugar and use it as energy.

From this study it was concluded both types of resistance training could be useful for preventing Type 2 diabetes.

The Mayo Clinic recommends resistance training for other benefits as well as preventing Type 2 diabetes. Other conditions that can be prevented or managed include:

osteoporosis,arthritis,back pain,depression, andobesity.

Your bones are constantly being broken down and built up, and resistance training helps to tilt the balance in favor of building up. As we age our bones have the tendency to become brittle and fracture easily, a condition known as osteoporosis, which resistance training can help to prevent or even reverse.

Building up the muscles that move the joints can help to reduce joint pain in arthritis. Our backs have not been upright for very long in the evolutionary scale of things, and back pain is not uncommon. Building up muscles in the back can make them more fit to hold up the back bones and internal organs.

Exercise helps your body to build up endorphins, a good way to fight depression. As the muscles become better developed they will use up more calories, helping to prevent and diminish overweight and obesity.

Why not discuss with your doctor whether a plan for resistance training might be right for you.

To discover answers to questions you may be asking yourself about Type 2 Diabetes, click on this link... Natural Diabetes Treatments