Andres Splenser, M.D.<\/a> \u201cThis after-meal walk is particularly effective because it capitalizes on elevated post-meal glucose, enhancing glucose uptake and reducing insulin demand.\u201d\n<\/p>\n It Supports Weight Management <\/p>\n
When you walk, your body uses energy. This can help balance the energy you take in through food consumption. In addition, when you exercise regularly, your body uses energy more consistently through the rest of day, which means you can better handle increases in food (energy) intake without gaining excessive weight, says Curtis.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Overweight and obesity can increase the risk of developing diabetes and make established diabetes harder to manage. Weight loss can improve blood sugar levels and insulin action while potentially reducing the need for diabetic medications.\n<\/p>\n
It Lowers Stress Hormones and Improves Mental Health <\/p>\n
Stress and other mental health issues can affect blood sugar by impacting your ability to engage in diabetes self-care behaviors. \u201cExercise improves mental health and lowers stress hormones, which indirectly helps blood sugar,\u201d says Curtis. A quick walk may help you to calm your nerves and indirectly better manage blood sugar levels.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
How to Start Walking <\/p>\n
If you are not already exercising, start slowly and increase slowly. \u201cGradually increasing physical movement starts with moving out of a sitting position at least every 30 minutes for blood glucose and other benefits. One study showed that even walking 6 minutes can show positive health outcomes for people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes,\u201d says Smithson.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Some strategies for getting started:
\n Put it in your schedule: make it part of your daily routine, whenever it works best for you.\u00a0Coordinate it with something fun: a television series, a podcast, a great playlist or a time just for you that you enjoy.\u00a0Consider the elements: if you can get outside, make sure you have the appropriate clothing. If the weather doesn\u2019t permit, walk around your place of living, at a gym or around the indoor track while your child has sporting practice.\u00a0Find a buddy: they can keep you accountable, make walking more enjoyable and challenge you to stay committed.\u00a0Get creative: Even short walks add up. \u201cShort bouts throughout the day, 10-15 minutes, have a cumulative effect on blood sugar management,\u201d says Splenser.\u00a0Walk while working: \u201cA walking pad can also be transformative\u2014it allows gentle, continuous movement throughout the workday, which helps stabilize blood sugar and counteracts prolonged sitting,\u201d suggests Kumar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Note that exercise can impact blood sugar for up to 24 hours or more after activity. If you take glucose-lowering medication and are not used to walking, monitoring your blood sugar before, during and after can prevent and manage low blood sugar. This data provides information about how your body responds to exercise, since everyone is different.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cChecking blood sugar before and after walking offers insight into how blood sugars are trending. There are many factors involved with a person\u2019s blood sugar level, so while a walk tends to bring levels down, that may not be the case every time. Monitoring blood sugar levels is key in making informed decisions,\u201d says Smithson.\n<\/p>\n
Our Expert Take <\/p>\n
Regular walking can improve insulin sensitivity, help reduce blood sugar levels after meals, support weight management and reduce stress hormones.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWalking also has benefits of being accessible (can do almost anywhere) and with minimal equipment needs (just a good pair of shoes). It can also be social and get you outside, both of which have their own health benefits. And your dog will thank you if you take them,\u201d says Curtis. If you don\u2019t enjoy walking, that\u2019s okay too. She adds, \u201cThere is no magic exercise\u2014all movement is good for you. The best exercise is what you enjoy and what you will actually do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walking improves insulin sensitivity, helping muscles use glucose for energy and lowering blood sugar.A short walk after meals,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":479430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,407,84],"class_list":["post-479429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}