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How Exercise Impacts Blood Sugar MixMedia – Getty Images<\/p>\n
For people with prediabetes or diabetes<\/a> or those who are watching their blood sugar, the primary goal is to avoid spikes and keep blood sugar levels within a certain range. Still, this doesn\u2019t always happen, which is why it\u2019s important to have go-to strategies that help you bring blood sugar down fast<\/a> in the event of a spike. While nothing replaces supplemental insulin, you may wonder if exercise lowers blood sugar.<\/p>\n Meet the experts: Victoria Finn, M.D.<\/a>, an endocrinologist at Medical Offices of Manhattan; Brooke Bussard, M.D.<\/a>, a lifestyle medicine health coach.<\/p>\n Here, doctors explain how movement impacts your numbers, plus why maintaining a regular fitness regimen may also support long-term blood sugar management.<\/p>\n Can exercise lower blood sugar during a spike?<\/p>\n \u201cFor type 2 diabetes<\/a>, movement is often the fastest natural method to reduce a blood sugar spike,\u201d says Victoria Finn, M.D.<\/a>, an endocrinologist at Medical Offices of Manhattan. When you experience an increase in blood sugar levels, that means that there is excess glucose in the bloodstream. \u201cMovement causes our muscles to contract, and contracting muscles need energy. One of the fastest sources of that energy is glucose circulating in the bloodstream,\u201d explains Brooke Bussard, M.D.<\/a>, a lifestyle medicine health coach. \u201cAs muscles pull glucose out of the blood to make energy, blood sugar levels naturally fall. This is why even short bouts of movement can have a noticeable effect on glucose levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Not only does exercise prompt muscle cells to quickly pull glucose out of the bloodstream, but it also does so using a pathway that doesn\u2019t require insulin. \u201cExercise allows muscles to take up glucose even when insulin isn\u2019t working well,\u201d affirms Dr. Bussard. While simple movement such as a brisk walk<\/a> or climbing stairs can be effective, Dr. Bussard recommends going for squats<\/a>. \u201cSquats use our largest muscle groups\u2014quads, glutes, and hamstrings\u2014so any movement pattern that mimics the squatting motion would be beneficial,\u201d she says. \u201cA simple option is repeated sit-to-stands: stand up from a chair, sit back down, and repeat for 10 to 15 repetitions.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, Dr. Finn notes that if insulin or medication is part of your treatment plan for type 2 diabetes, you should use your prescribed correction dose in addition to acting with movement. \u201cIt\u2019s reasonable to check blood sugar levels again within 15 to 30 minutes to see how your body responds to the activity,\u201d Dr. Bussard adds.<\/p>\n Can exercise lower blood sugar for type 1 diabetics?<\/p>\n \u201cFor type 1 diabetes<\/a>, insulin is the mandatory first-line treatment for a blood sugar spike,\u201d says Dr. Finn. \u201cIt is the primary and only way to clear excess glucose from the bloodstream.\u201d Once you\u2019ve taken your correction dose of insulin, Dr. Finn says that some light walking can accelerate the blood sugar-lowering effect. But the key here is keeping the movement light, especially if there is a risk of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). \u201cIf blood sugar is very high and ketones are present, exercise can actually raise blood sugar further and should be avoided until levels are safer,\u201d says Dr. Bussard.<\/p>\n How regular exercise supports blood sugar management<\/p>\n While exercise in the moment may help people with diabetes lower their blood sugar during a spike, maintaining a regular fitness routine can also support blood sugar management long-term. \u201cRegular exercise improves the muscles\u2019 ability to take up and use glucose, and it also makes the body more sensitive to insulin over time,\u201d Dr. Bussard explains. \u201cFrequent movement throughout the day matters too, especially breaking up long periods of sitting. This keeps glucose moving out of the bloodstream and into the muscles where it\u2019s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n Research published in the American Journal of Medicine Open<\/a> found that regular exercise may prevent, delay, or make type 2 diabetes go into remission, helping to improve short- and long-term glycemic management and insulin sensitivity, plus support weight loss<\/a>, which may help insulin resistance. Benefits have been found for aerobic exercise<\/a>, strength training<\/a>, and a combination of the two\u2014whatever regimen you are able to stick to is likely to have the greatest effect.<\/p>\n The bottom line<\/p>\n For those with high blood sugar, brisk movement may be a powerful tool to help quickly lower blood sugar levels, as long as DKA is not in play. Of course, nothing replaces insulin for those who take it, so be sure to continue taking any medications as prescribed. But for many, adding exercise to their routine regularly may lead to more readings within range.<\/p>\n You Might Also Like<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"How Exercise Impacts Blood Sugar MixMedia – Getty Images For people with prediabetes or diabetes or those who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":228579,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[15547,5026,31734,136303,136307,136306,1372,589,163,85,46,136305,10396,136304],"class_list":{"0":"post-257762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-aerobic-exercise","9":"tag-blood-sugar","10":"tag-bloodstream","11":"tag-brooke-bussard","12":"tag-bussard","13":"tag-excess-glucose","14":"tag-exercise","15":"tag-fitness","16":"tag-health","17":"tag-il","18":"tag-israel","19":"tag-medical-offices-of-manhattan","20":"tag-type-2-diabetes","21":"tag-victoria-finn"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/228579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}