Check out What a Little Exercise Does for your Blood Sugar

“I wouldn’t benefit from exercising regularly,” said no one ever.

And while no prescription is one-size-fits-all, it’s safe to say that even for people with chronic health conditions like diabetes, exercise enhances quality of life and can help manage or improve underlying disease processes. 

But for people with diabetes—a chronic illness causing impaired blood sugar control due to insufficient production or poor utilization of the hormone insulin—it’s important to take a few extra precautions while participating in physical activity since there’s a greater risk for complications. 

Your Insulin on Exercise: How Working Out Affects Blood Sugar 

When someone works out, their cells and tissues need extra fuel to accommodate for the increased energy being used. Turns out one of the body’s top choices for fuel is sugar, which comes from carbohydrates and floats around in the blood as glucose. 

But sugar has a hard time getting into cells on its own. So the hormone insulin is needed to take sugar out of the blood and into the cells needing it for energy. What this means is that exercise (especially aerobic exercise) actually lowers blood sugar levels. This can be beneficial, especially for someone with diabetes who often has too much blood sugar to begin with (a state called hyperglycemia). 

Another normal consequence of exercise is that your body will become more sensitive to insulin. This means that insulin becomes better at its job, which—in addition to getting sugar into cells for energy—includes taking excess sugar out of the blood and storing it in the liver and skeletal muscles (in the form of a molecule called glycogen—which interestingly enough is another preferred fuel source for exercise). 

In short: exercise (especially prolonged aerobic exercise) can 1) decrease your blood sugar levels and 2) increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin, making it even easier for the hormone to shuttle sugar around wherever it’s needed. These are normally good consequences—but things can go a little haywire for people with diabetes—if they don’t exercise caution while exercising (no pun intended).

5 Things to Look Out for if Exercising with Diabetes

If you have diabetes or even pre-diabetes, you may be more likely to experience super low blood sugar during exercise, since your body already has a hard enough time controlling blood sugar levels at rest.

To be clear, exercise offers tons of benefits for the diabetic person—including weight loss and improved insulin sensitivity, as we’ve seen—but there are some risks, and you should keep the following things in mind: 

1. Stay well-hydrated. 

2. Keep foods nearby which can raise your blood sugar. If your blood sugar drops too low during exercise, you’ll need to be able to replenish it quickly, so things like fruit, sports gels, and sports drinks can help.

3. Be cautious when exercising in the heat.

4. Chat with your doctor before starting a new exercise program. You’ll need to understand how any medications you’re taking or other health conditions you have will impact your exercise tolerance. 

5. Keep aware of the signs of low blood sugar. This includes irritability, tingling in the hands or tongue, tremulousness, and as well as fatigue and sweating (which you may be feeling anyway while exercising!)

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