When You Have Diabetes, You Must Exercise.

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The benefits of exercise for persons with diabetes—or practically any other disease, for that matter—cannot be emphasized. Exercise can help you lose weight, control your blood pressure, lower bad LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, boost beneficial HDL cholesterol, strengthen your muscles and bones, reduce anxiety, and improve your overall health.

Many studies have emphasized these and other advantages of exercise. The following are some of the most important findings:

• Exercise reduced HbA1c levels by 0.7 percentage points in patients with diabetes from various ethnic groups who were taking various medications and following various diets—and this improvement occurred even though they did not lose weight.
• All types of exercise, whether aerobic, resistance or a combination of both (combined training), were equally effective in decreasing HbA1c levels in diabetics.
• Both resistance training and aerobic exercise reduced insulin resistance in previously inactive older people with abdominal obesity who were at risk of diabetes. Combining the two types of exercise was found to be more effective than doing either of them separately.
• People with diabetes who walked at least two hours a week had a lower chance of dying from heart disease than those who did not, and those who exercised three to four hours a week had an even lower risk.
• Women with diabetes who exercised for at least four hours per week (including walking) had a 40% lower risk of heart disease than those who did not. Even after researchers controlled for confounding factors like BMI, smoking, and other heart disease risk factors, the advantages remained.

In general, one to three hours after eating is the optimal time to exercise because your blood sugar level is likely to be greater. It's critical to test your blood sugar before exercising if you use insulin. If your blood sugar level is below 100 mg/dL before exercising, a piece of fruit or a little snack will help you raise it and avoid hypoglycemia. If your blood sugar level is stable after 30 minutes, repeat the test. Checking your blood sugar after a particularly strenuous workout or activity is also a good idea. If you're on insulin, the risk of hypoglycemia is highest six to twelve hours after you exercise. Experts also advise against exercising if your blood sugar is extremely high (above 250), because activity can cause blood sugar levels to rise even higher.

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