Do's And Don'ts To Be Followed By A Diabetics
Walking is nearly as important as diet and medication in management of diabetes. Walking provides greater long-term health benefits for people with type 2 diabetes than other forms of physical activity.
Walking is good for diabetes for following important reasons:
• it lowers blood glucose levels, more significantly post meal glucose levels of up to 3 hours
• it increases the peripheral utilisation of glucose by increasing the number of insulin receptors in the body
• regular walking can help to control the progression of the disease and development of further complications
• regular walking can help to reduce the amount of antidiabetic medications and insulin
• walking is beneficial because the muscle contractions help to clear blood sugar
• regular walking also improves cognitive function too
Problems faced by patients with diabetes which can be managed by walking:
• diabetes patients are more prone to suffer from nerve damage and subsequent neuropathy. Walking can control peripheral neuropathy by slowing down the rate of nerve damage in such patients
• diabetes patients are more prone to decreased physical activity due to easy fatigue, foot problems, joint pain, etc, which increases their chances to be obese. Obesity further increases the chances of cardio and cerebrovascular risk factors in diabetes patients. Simply walking for 30 minutes in day can cut these risks significantly
• depression is one of the factor posing significant problems in diabetes patients. Walking helps in mood elevation and reduction of stress in these patients.