How should people with diabetes exercise? Remember the following "treasures"

Small amounts of activity each day can help break up sedentary behavior and help people moderately control postprandial blood sugar, which is more beneficial for patients with insulin resistance and a higher body mass index. Regardless of the intensity or type of exercise, the energy expenditure of postprandial exercise can reduce overall blood sugar levels, and exercise lasting more than 45 minutes can provide the most stable benefits.

The American College of Sports Medicine recently updated and released a "Consensus Statement on Exercise and Physical Activity for Type 2 Diabetes". The "Consensus Statement" suggests that regular aerobic exercise can improve blood sugar in adult patients with type 2 diabetes, reduce the time of high blood sugar, and reduce the overall blood sugar by 0.5-0.7%; in terms of blood sugar management and lowering insulin levels, high-intensity resistance training is better than medium- and low-intensity resistance training.

Say no to the "nail-like" way of working

Office workers need to pay attention. Sitting for long periods of time is very bad for their health. This "nail-like" way of working is not acceptable. You must "stand up and move."

In a recent media interview, Jiang Haihong, deputy director of the Heilongjiang Province Endocrine Quality Control Center, chairman of the Daqing Endocrine Society, and director of the Endocrinology Department of Daqing Oilfield General Hospital, said: According to statistics from the World Health Organization, 1/4 of adults in the world do not meet the physical activity standards. Studies have shown that long periods of sitting and lack of exercise will undoubtedly increase people's potential risk of heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes.

In a new WHO physical activity guideline, it is recommended that all adults, including those with chronic diseases or disabilities, should engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity per week. Adults can also increase moderate-intensity aerobic activity to more than 300 minutes per week, or engage in more than 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity; or combine equal amounts of moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity activities, which is better for health.

Dr. Jiang Haihong analyzed that as one of the important means of diabetes management, aerobic exercise naturally has many benefits, which can help improve insulin resistance, reduce glycosylated hemoglobin, increase maximum oxygen uptake, reduce weight, improve muscle tension, heart rate and respiratory function, and effectively reduce cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular mortality. Therefore, it has attracted more and more attention and attention. So, according to the above-mentioned WHO recommended standards, how can we benefit our health in the long run? In this regard, Dr. Jiang Haihong shared the following "treasures" with everyone.

Resistance training + aerobic exercise, both are important

According to the Consensus Statement of the American College of Sports Medicine, regular aerobic exercise can improve blood sugar management in adults with type 2 diabetes and reduce the time of daily high blood sugar levels; from the perspective of overall blood sugar management and insulin level attenuation, high-intensity resistance training (i.e. anaerobic exercise) is more beneficial than low- and medium-intensity resistance training. Jiang Haihong explained: Aerobic exercise refers to the continuous use of large muscle groups to allow muscle cells to perform aerobic respiration, mainly swimming, jogging, brisk walking, various ball games, cycling, etc.; aerobic exercise that can be completed at home includes doing some jumping jacks, leg hooks, aerobics, etc. on a yoga mat, and even doing housework and shopping in the mall is a low-intensity aerobic exercise.

Compared to aerobic exercise, resistance training is also called anaerobic exercise, which refers to the high-speed and intense movement of muscles in an "oxygen-deficient" state. Due to the excessive speed and explosive power, the sugar in the human body does not have time to be decomposed by oxygen, resulting in very low oxygen intake, and having to rely on "anaerobic energy supply". This type of exercise is characterized by soreness in the relevant muscle groups. The most common way is to go to the gym to "lift weights"; some lower-intensity resistance training that can be completed at home include stretching exercises with elastic bands, squats, push-ups, etc.

Here, Dr. Jiang Haihong recommends that you do resistance exercise first, then aerobic exercise, with each exercise lasting about 20 minutes to half an hour, and a combination of the two is appropriate, 3-5 times a week, with 2 non-consecutive days as rest days, and the specific content of the exercise can be adjusted according to your own situation. The reason for this arrangement is that resistance exercise can increase muscle growth, muscle volume, basal metabolic rate, and increase the body's sensitivity to insulin, which is good for both diabetic and prediabetic patients.

Aerobic exercise consumes energy and burns fat tissue, which is essential for weight loss. Joint flexibility training is very beneficial for elderly people with type 2 diabetes. Studies have shown that flexibility training alone or in combination with resistance training can improve the joint mobility of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Director Jiang Haihong emphasized that strength training for adult patients with type 2 diabetes can help them gain body balance. Such exercise can help improve balance and gain a steady gait to combat the risk of falling and injury. In addition to traditional static and dynamic stretching, other types of exercise such as yoga, Tai Chi, and dancing can also benefit patients with type 2 diabetes in lowering blood sugar.

What kind of exercise should be individualized

Dr. Jiang Haihong pointed out that for people who are very overweight, skipping rope, running and other forms of exercise can easily damage the knee joints, so these activities are not recommended; swimming, as a high-intensity aerobic exercise that does not damage the knee joints, is worth promoting; if you can't swim, it doesn't matter, you can choose a series of exercises that do not cause violent impact forces between the knee joints and the ground, such as radio gymnastics and brisk walking.

For older people and those who want to lose weight, exercise is more effective than dieting because excess protein in muscles is more likely to be lost, so resistance training is very important. Jiang Haihong pointed out that when people exercise, they can strengthen their bones and muscles, sweat moderately, and naturally get a happy mood and better sleep. Of course, it is necessary to master the appropriate exercise intensity, and it is better to feel slight muscle soreness.

In addition, regardless of the type or intensity of exercise, post-meal exercise for diabetic patients can produce greater energy consumption, which is beneficial for maintaining stable blood sugar levels. Exercise lasting ≥ 45 minutes has the greatest benefit. Moreover, small amounts of physical activity multiple times a day can help correct bad sitting habits and can moderately reduce post-meal blood sugar, which is especially useful for patients with insulin resistance (referring to a decreased ability of insulin to absorb and utilize glucose).

For young people and adolescents with type 2 diabetes, Director Jiang Haihong recommends the same physical activity goals as for the general population of the same age group. Pregnant women with or without diabetes should perform moderate-intensity exercise for a certain period of time each week, at least 20-30 minutes each time.

The principle is to gradually increase the dosage

Jiang Haihong warned that in order to avoid damage to muscles and joints due to excessive haste and intensity, diabetic patients can start with lighter exercise intensity and difficulty, and gradually increase exercise frequency, time and intensity after an activity cycle of several weeks to a month.

At the same time, each exercise should be carried out in three stages: warm-up period, aerobic exercise period and relaxation period. Director Jiang introduced: the warm-up period lasts 5 to 10 minutes, mainly some low-intensity, casual exercises that start slowly; the aerobic exercise period lasts 20 to 30 minutes, the exercise rhythm is accelerated, and continuous exercise makes the muscles consume more oxygen, which in turn speeds up the heartbeat and deepens the breathing; when entering the relaxation period, the diabetic patient is about to end the exercise, keep the limbs in a state of slight activity, such as stepping on the spot or walking, and then gradually stop exercising.

Dr. Jiang reminds everyone to check blood sugar changes before, during and after exercise, and not to exercise on an empty stomach; the best time to exercise is one hour after a meal. When going out for exercise, carry easily absorbed carbohydrates with you, such as glucose gel, glucose tablets, soft drinks or raisins, to prevent hypoglycemia and eat them when symptoms of hypoglycemia occur.

Before exercise, you should also drink an appropriate amount of water and carbohydrates. Water is the best drink, and you should drink water before each exercise. At the same time, you should choose a pair of suitable sports shoes, and carefully check your feet for redness and swelling, wound infection, open ulcers, etc. after exercise every day. Jiang Haihong also suggested that it is best to have a partner or family member participate in exercise, so that you can get timely help in case of emergencies.