What benefits does exercise offer diabetics? Plenty, when the right kinds are performed, at the right intervals for the correct length of time. In fact, it is such an important part of it's overall management that it can almost let you forget that you even have the disease.
Exercise works to burn glucose, which, in turn, helps to keep levels within their desired range. Burning glucose in this manner is much healthier for you than having a sedentary lifestyle and waiting for diabetes medication to do the same thing. This is because many medications come with unpopular side effects.
At the same time that glucose is being consumed, so is excess fat. This helps to maintain a healthy weight and rids the body of unwanted fat that could accumulate in the wrong locations, such as the liver. A fatty liver comes with it's own laundry list of complications.
Insulin is also utilized much easier and more efficiently in someone who exercises. This helps to decrease the likelihood of a nasty side effect of diabetes- insulin resistance. This is yet another condition which carries it's own complications.
Next, you see how exercise helps circulation. The benefits here are endless. To start, improved circulation moves blood throughout the body, even to lower extremities – a common disaster area for diabetics. The first place circulation problems show up are typically in the legs and feet. Over time, this condition can deteriorate these areas to the point that they have to be amputated.
Better circulation also means the heart and circulatory system are healthier. More blood flow means more oxygen to critical locations,such as major organs and the brain. It also means less plaque buildup in arteries, lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides and higher good cholesterol.
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