I saw a commercial this morning for a feature on webMD's web site called the Type 2 diabetes health check. I got an 88/100, but that should have been even higher because of one of the questions at the end. It asked if people with type 2 diabetes need to take insulin, and I said no, seeing as how I don't. They said yes, you might need to take it for a while. Well that's not exactly a true/false question.
Anyways, I haven't really used WebMD before to look for information on diabetes, but I'm going to give it a try and see if there's anything interesting on there.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Why exercise is important (and why I need to get back on it)
I've been slacking lately, I'm not sure what it has been, because my diet hasn't changed dramatically, but my fasting numbers in the morning have been creeping up into the 110-120 range consistently over the last 4 weeks or so. I got to thinking about it and I figured it probably has more to do with the lack of exercise than the slightly less disciplined diet. Its not that I was hitting the gym every day for an hour back when I was exercising, it was just walking the dog an extra lap around the neighborhood, trying to start jogging a little with him, playing with him around the house, things like that. Apparently every little bit counts though, which brings me to the point of this post.....
This weekend I was asked why exercise is so important for people with Diabetes. The typical answer is that it helps you lose weight and makes you healthier overall. I wasn't satisfied with this one as exercise is still supposed to be important for me, and I don't need to lose weight (ok, maybe 5 lbs). I said that I figured it helped you manage your blood glucose better over the long term by helping control blood sugar spikes. I was kinda guessing, but I wasn't that far off according to the American Diabetes Association:
How Exercise Helps
The cliff notes of the article (which explains things in scientific terms I enjoy) are that exercise causes you to burn more sugar. To burn more sugar you need to move the glucose into the cells more efficiently to burn it for energy. The body does this by creating more paths for the sugar to enter the cell. As long as you keep exercising, those paths stick around, and help you burn glucose even when you're not exercising so you avoid those sugar spikes. If you stop exercising (or don't even start) the opposite happens. Those pathways into the cells become fewer, and it becomes harder for the glucose in the bloodstream to enter, raising your blood sugar.
So I was right, I just didn't know why until now.
This weekend I was asked why exercise is so important for people with Diabetes. The typical answer is that it helps you lose weight and makes you healthier overall. I wasn't satisfied with this one as exercise is still supposed to be important for me, and I don't need to lose weight (ok, maybe 5 lbs). I said that I figured it helped you manage your blood glucose better over the long term by helping control blood sugar spikes. I was kinda guessing, but I wasn't that far off according to the American Diabetes Association:
How Exercise Helps
The cliff notes of the article (which explains things in scientific terms I enjoy) are that exercise causes you to burn more sugar. To burn more sugar you need to move the glucose into the cells more efficiently to burn it for energy. The body does this by creating more paths for the sugar to enter the cell. As long as you keep exercising, those paths stick around, and help you burn glucose even when you're not exercising so you avoid those sugar spikes. If you stop exercising (or don't even start) the opposite happens. Those pathways into the cells become fewer, and it becomes harder for the glucose in the bloodstream to enter, raising your blood sugar.
So I was right, I just didn't know why until now.
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