Eighteen months ago Prasad Kaipa was diagnosed with a particularly high A1c. A discovery like that is enough to scare anyone. Prasad refused to accept his fate. He told me this columnist that he cut back on rice and pasta. But most importantly of all he started exercising daily…jogging, tennis, yoga, and resistance training are all components of his fitness regimen. As a result he has never needed medications and his A1c stands at a respectable 6.2, and his fasting blood glucose averages 95.
Prasad is a true success story, and these results can be had for the majority of motivated diabetics. There is no need to accept the diagnosis if the desire to beat the disease is held by the person.
This is not such a unique story. If one were to search for “Diabetes and exercise” on pubmed.com, the library of medical papers run by the NIH, there is a whole host of studies and medical journal articles proving that exercise effects insulin management and indeed prolongs life. There is no need to die young simply because one is diagnosed with diabetes.
This columnist runs 3 miles every other day and, although he still needs insulin, his blood glucose is down substantially. Why?
According to PBS TV Functional Fitness host, Suzanne Andrews who also put together the DVD Stop Diabetes Now, “Increased activity stabilizes blood sugar, lowers bad cholesterol, raises good cholesterol, stabilizes blood pressure, enhances the effectiveness of insulin, improves mood, and boosts self-confidence.
“People with diabetes or pre-diabetes who exercise at least 30 minutes a day,” Suzanne said, “have more control over their glucose and lower risk of complications because it stimulates the functioning of insulin.
“You need insulin to lower your blood sugar level and glucagons to raise
your blood sugar level. As your blood sugar levels fall and glucagon is
released, it increases your blood sugar levels. Insulin must also be
there. Why? To get sugar into the cell. If insulin is not there, it
doesn’t matter how high your blood sugar levels are. If you can’t get
glucose into the cell, you can’t produce ATP, your body’s energy source and
without ATP, you’re dead. So you see, your body needs insulin!”
She went on to caution that to insure safe exercise a person must test their blood sugar before, during and after exercise. Let’s assume the readers of this column know the symptoms of high and low BS. In this columnist’s experience, his BS levels have evened out over a period of time strictly due to exercise. Suzanne recommends that BS must be at least 100 before and during a fitness regimen, and absolutely no more than 300.
Want a long life? Put down that Mounds Bar and go for a walk!
Interested readers can find Suzanne’s promotional video via this link: Stop Diabetes Now http://youtu.be/EBoemlG-Tl4
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