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

How Weight Loss Helps Control Diabetes

Unfortunately, diabetes cannot be cured no matter which type of diabetes you have. But blood sugar levels can be successfully controlled with healthy lifestyle changes which should include a healthy eating plan, regular exercise and weight loss. If you have type 1 diabetes, you will need a lifelong insulin therapy but if you have type 2 diabetes, you may be able to keep your blood sugar levels under control with a healthy lifestyle alone.

Your blood sugar levels are affected by a number of factors, in the first place your dietary choices. Glucose is produced from the foods you eat, or carbohydrates to be more precise. Carbs are directly broken down into glucose and released into your bloodstream. Glucose is the main fuel for your body's cells but if you have diabetes, glucose does not enter the cells but is circulating in your bloodstream instead. As a result, you have too high blood sugar levels. This can happen for two reasons - your pancreas failing to produce enough insulin (type 1 diabetes) or your cells not responding to insulin (type 2 diabetes) which plays the key role in glucose uptake by the cells. In the first case, insulin therapy is inevitable for the uptake of glucose. But in type 2 diabetes, it is often enough to control consumption of carbohydrates and increase sensitivity of the cells to the effects of insulin. And this where weight loss play an important role.

Excess body fat does not only increase the risk of a number of health problems but it also makes the body's cells less sensitive to insulin. Even more, overweight is believed to be one of the main contributors to type 2 diabetes. But the good news is that loss of as little as 5 percent of body weight can increase sensitivity of the cells to insulin and make blood glucose control a lot easier. In a combination with permanent changes of eating and exercise habits, weight management can be enough to keep blood sugar levels within a healthy range. Loss of excess body weight and healthy lifestyle changes, however, are not enough to control type 1 diabetes. But they make its management a lot easier and may even lower the dose of insulin needed to control blood sugar levels.

Losing weight with diabetes, unfortunately, is not an easy task because sudden dietary changes or/and increased physical activity can cause your blood sugar levels drop too low which can be very dangerous. You are therefore highly recommended to consult with your doctor before you start with any weight loss programs, especially if you take insulin or medications for lowering blood sugar levels because you may need a dose adjustment.