Diabetics should know Good advice
by Dr Harold Gunathilaka
There are more than one way you could bring down blood sugar level to normal range (fasting 90-110 mg), as a diabetic.
Early stages your doctor will refer you to a dietician for advice on dietetic management. This early stage (pre-diabetic phase) diet and exercise alone will help to control the disease and possibly even to reverse.
When you are a full blown diabetic due to neglect during the early phase, your doctor will put you on medication to bring down your blood sugar level. Medication alone controls the blood sugar level, but may not be able to reverse the diabetic situation. In short, you need to take medication right through life.
Another way of naturally bringing down your blood sugar is strength training exercises for the muscles to absorb more glucose from the blood. This way one could reverse the diabetic situation.
Most people are advised to walk 10,000 steps a day by their physicians, but do not stress the importance of strength training to bring down your blood sugar faster. Walking benefits the heart and overall health, but strength exercises are specifically done to reduce your blood sugar fast and further build your muscles.
Studies have revealed that when muscles are developed, or built up through strength repetitive exercises do increase the bulk of muscle bellies through a process called ‘hypertrophy’. This would assist the muscles to absorb more blood glucose for energy.
Strength training may be done daily or at least twice a week. At the same time you could do other exercises like walking, jogging, swimming, cycling to increase your heart pumping.
You don’t have to go to the gym to do strength exercises. You only need two resistance rubber bands and a pair of light dumbbells.
You need to do at least 10 stretches continuously with the rubber bands, or dumbbells, relax for 15 minutes and do another different series of stretches.
You could hold dumbbells in both hands and flex your elbows and straighten (flex and extend) 10 times. You could improvise other stretch exercises to keep the muscles working.
These exercises, as mentioned earlier develop your muscles and more blood glucose will get absorbed, thereby reducing your blood sugar.
Conclusion: Strength exercises would be the best way to reduce your blood sugar among diabetics, with or without other conventional medication.
Give it a go and see the results for yourself.
