When you do moderate exercise, like walking, that makes your heart beat a little faster and breathe a little harder. Your muscles use more glucose, the sugar in your blood stream. Over time, this can lower your blood sugar levels. It also makes the insulin in your body work better.
Good news: Two new studies found that exercising 30 minutes a day reduces your risk of diabetes by 25 percent, and walking for 10 minutes after meals lowers your blood sugar by 22 percent.
If burning higher amounts of sugar is your goal, thus developing your anaerobic energy system, then sprinting, short swim races, soccer, lacrosse, hockey and non-circuit weightlifting should become your focus.
A short walk, anywhere from two to five minutes, is enough to result in lower blood sugar levels after a meal, according to a February 2022 meta-analysis published in the journal Sports Medicine.
Drinking water regularly may rehydrate the blood, lower blood sugar levels, and reduce diabetes risk ( 20 , 21 ). Keep in mind that water and other zero-calorie drinks are best. Avoid sugar-sweetened options, as these can raise blood glucose, drive weight gain, and increase diabetes risk ( 22 , 23 ).
Your doctor may tell you to have really sugary foods or drinks (like regular soda, orange juice, or cake frosting) or might give you glucose tablets or gel to take — all of these can help to raise your blood sugar level fast, which is what you need to do when it's low. Wait about 10 minutes to let the sugar work.
Adrenaline raises blood glucose levels by stimulating your liver to release glucose. The food you eat before or during a workout may also contribute to a glucose rise. Eat too many carbs before exercising, and your sweat session may not be enough to keep your blood glucose within your goal range.
Physical activity can lower your blood sugar up to 24 hours or more after your workout by making your body more sensitive to insulin. Become familiar with how your blood sugar responds to exercise. Checking your blood sugar level more often before and after exercise can help you see the benefits of activity.
The researchers observed that the evening post-meal walk was the most effective in lowering blood sugar levels for a full 24 hours.
Imagine you're out for a walk in the woods. During this leisurely stroll, your muscles are using a type of muscle fiber called slow-twitch fiber. These fibers circulate the oxygen you take in, and with every breath, burn off blood glucose and the glycogen stored in your liver.
Sugar is actually incredibly hard to burn off through exercise and can often lead to weight gain. Eating sugar is basically the same as asking your body to begin storing fat. When you eat a sugary snack, like a doughnut or a chocolate bar, your blood-glucose levels spike, which stimulates the release of insulin.
Walking might be pedestrian, but it does a lot for you. So if you're doing the most pedestrian of things, putting one foot in front of the other and just walking—not jogging, not running—are you burning fat? Short answer is yes, walking for exercise burns fat.
Research studies have shown that walking can be beneficial in bringing down blood glucose and therefore improving diabetes control.
Benefits of Walking
Try to work your way to 10,000 steps per day or at least 30 minutes a day to cut your risk of type 2 diabetes. If you have trouble walking 30 minutes at a time, try walking in smaller amounts throughout the day, such as 10 minutes in the morning, afternoon, and evenings.
A 30-minute walk at least five days per week is recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Diabetes Association.
On average, walking dropped my blood sugar by approximately one mg/dl per minute. The largest drop I saw was 46 mg/dl in 20 minutes, more than two mg/dl per minute. Walking was also surprisingly effective: my blood sugar dropped in 83% of my tests.
Some studies suggest that drinking coffee — whether caffeinated and decaffeinated — may actually reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If you already have diabetes, however, the impact of caffeine on insulin action may be associated with higher or lower blood sugar levels.
When you exercise, your muscles need more sugar to supply energy. Moderate to intense exercise may cause your blood sugar to drop during exercise and for the next 24 hours following exercise. When you exercise the body uses two sources of fuel, sugar and free fatty acids (that is, fat) to generate energy.
Lemon juice significantly lowered the mean blood glucose concentration peak by 30% (p < 0.01) and delayed it more than 35 min (78 vs. 41 min with water, p < 0.0001).
Look out for these surprising triggers that can send your blood sugar soaring: Sunburn—the pain causes stress, and stress increases blood sugar levels. Artificial sweeteners—more research is needed, but some studies show they can raise blood sugar. Coffee—even without sweetener.
Skipping a meal is typically no big deal. But if you're a person with diabetes, skipping meals or a lack of meal structure could result in dangerously low or high blood sugar levels. It is important to know your numbers especially when taking certain medications to lower blood sugar levels.
Increase Your Protein & Fat Intake
Eggs, peanut butter, beans, legumes, protein smoothies, fatty fish, and nuts are all high in protein. An increase in healthy fat intake also helps in sugar detox.
In the new study, green tea extract also lowered blood sugar, or glucose, and decreased gut inflammation and permeability in healthy people – an unexpected finding.
Making positive lifestyle changes such as eating a well-balanced diet, exercising regularly and getting down to a healthy weight (and maintaining it) are the key to possibly reversing or managing type 2 diabetes.