Many people automatically link diabetes to elevated blood sugar levels, and dieting is often suggested as a means of regulating these levels. Diet alone cannot lift all the heavy weights associated with diabetes, even if it is true that insulin shortage in diabetes does cause raised blood sugar and that diets high in protein and fiber and low in unsaturated fat can help prevent or manage the illness.
We are accustomed to considering exercise and all the ways it might benefit those who suffer from obesity and cardiovascular disease. Given that a diabetes diagnosis is frequently associated with both of these, it makes sense that we also take exercise’s effect on diabetes into account.
We’ll discuss walking in this piece, which is the most basic kind of exercise ever and is so basic that we no longer even consider it to be exercise. No, power walking is not the topic of discussion here.
Not always. People with diabetes already benefit indirectly from walking because of the close connection between obesity and heart disease and the health benefits it offers to those who have either condition alone or both.
However, studies indicate that there are additional, more obvious ways that walking helps people with diabetes.
Diabetes and walking
The notion that exercise improves overall health is common sense and well-established for the majority of typical people who do not suffer from any health issues. It is rarely necessary to provide evidence to persuade individuals of the health benefits of exercise, however it is another matter entirely whether or not they do it.
However, some data-driven persuasion may be necessary for those with diabetes, as this condition increases the likelihood of developing heart disease.
Dr. James O. Hill reviews some research on our particular form of exercise, walking, and its impact on type 2 diabetes in an editorial for the journal Diabetes Care. They discovered that even a small increase in the diabetic individuals’ exercise rates led to health gains.
Of course, though, how often and how hard you exercise matters. That is to say, briskly strolling about the apartment for five minutes each day does not qualify as sufficient exercise. The amount of exercise required is covered in further depth in the same study. The paper states that for the health benefits of exercise for diabetes to manifest, at least 10 MET hours per week must be completed.
Metabolic equivalent of task, or MET, is an acronym. This figure is obtained by dividing your resting metabolic rate by your active metabolic rate. Running for an hour at a pace of about six miles per hour or doing a week’s worth of less strenuous activity can get you up to a 10 MET hour.
Walking has a MET of roughly 2.0 to 3.0, depending on your pace. This implies that if you walk for an hour every day for five days, whether you power walk or leisurely, you will have completed 10 MET hours.
Studies on walking
However, the relationship between walking and diabetes is more complicated than it first appears. The timing of the exercises is the problem. Stated differently, the time of day that you exercise can affect how much it improves your health.
Dr. Reynolds et al. investigated the hypothesis that walking could lower blood sugar levels in individuals with type 2 diabetes in a 2016 study that was published in Diabetologia. They specifically contrasted the effects of walking regularly after meals with walking at random times during the day.
Two groups were randomly assigned to the participants. While the other group was told to walk for ten minutes following each meal, the first group was only told to walk for thirty minutes at any time. According to the findings, the second group experienced greater improvements in their bloodstream levels of circulating glucose, one type of sugar that is free-floating.
Furthermore, the results of this study indicate that after the individuals had consumed a meal higher in carbohydrates, the discrepancies between the groups were very noticeable. The contrasts that were visible following dinner were equally stark. The results indicate not only human behavior and psychology, but also the physiological mechanisms behind diabetes.
Since dinner is typically the largest meal of the day, you will notice that the impact of walking was most noticeable just thereafter. Additionally, people typically partake in more sedentary pursuits after supper, such reading, watching TV, or just hanging out and catching up with friends.
Your system has just been supplied with new energy at this moment. It wouldn’t be implausible to assume that the insulin system, which is already inadequate, is struggling hardest to function immediately after a meal. It may require your simple assistance, just going for a walk. On the other hand, you should exercise caution when following the suggestion to go for a stroll after eating.
Exercise right after a meal may not be a good idea for those with heart disease, according to Dr. Zonszein, the director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, as he stated to WebMD in an inquiry. The heart is under more strain than usual because the systems require a lot of blood and oxygen, both of which it pumps out.
While this is a warning to those who already have a heart ailment, diabetics should also heed this advise while creating a new routine because they are more susceptible to heart diseases.
Another study confirmed that regular, moderate-to-intense exercise helped to stabilize blood glucose levels in people at risk of developing diabetes, and it was published in the same issue of Diabetologia in 2016. In other words, those workouts assisted in lowering the initial risk of diabetes.
The MET values indicate that power walking, or more brisk walking, with a value of 3.0, would be considered a moderate type of exercise. This type of exercise appears to have protective effects against diabetes.
In summary
Overall, walking is beneficial for diabetics’ general health as well as the general health of the general public. It is particularly helpful after a large meal. Research suggests that if you do consume more carbohydrates than normal, it’s even more beneficial to go for a stroll rather than vegging out on the couch.
It should not be followed mindlessly, though, as with many other health recommendations. As medical professionals have noted, jogging immediately after eating may be detrimental to your heart because it puts additional strain on your circulatory system.
Like with diet regimens, you should follow your doctor’s instructions after consulting with them if you want to incorporate a quick walk into your post-meal routine.
All of this would be for nothing, in the end, if you were unable to follow the workout regimen on a daily basis. We’ll now go over some advice on how to include more walking into your daily routine.
Read Also: Diabetes and Brown Sugar
How to increase your walking distance
Similar to eating, the secret to exercise is to plan ahead so that you have the energy, time, and even place for your post-meal walks. If walking to work every day is too much for you, it is totally understandable. But even if you drive or use public transportation, you may still fit in some walking time.
It’s actually a pretty basic premise. Step off the mode of conveyance, whatever it may be, a few kilometers from your final destination. Just a mile or two, nothing more. Step off and begin to move. However, implementing this plan will demand time management skills because you don’t want to overwork your heart, which would be detrimental if you have diabetes, nor do you want to be late.
After making one journey to work and one back, you will have covered four or five kilometers on foot. You would be well within the goal range of activity if you could do the same thing close to where you are. Of course, depending on where you live, walking outside in the winter is much more difficult, if not impossible. However, there are still ways to get around the barrier.
If you would rather not walk half a mile to and from work as described above, you could think about going up a few flights of stairs once you get there. Make sure to start out carefully and avoid overexerting yourself because stepping on stairs puts greater strain on your muscles and cardiovascular system.
In conclusion, as a final piece of advice, you should consider starting to walk wherever you can. For example, if the weather is nice and it’s just one subway stop away, take a stroll rather than a trip. Later on, your blood sugar and heart will both appreciate it.
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