Diabetes is characterized by an excess of glucose (sugar) in the blood. This sugar reacts with blood vessels, organs and the brain causing the complications associated with diabetes. It is the job of Insulin to lower the glucose in the blood.
This excess glucose arises because the body starts to ignore insulin, because it is always there attempting to bring the blood glucose down. Eventually more and more insulin is necessary to get the same effect on the blood glucose causing the body burn out and stop producing insulin.
Currently, diabetic medications are used to make the body more sensitive to insulin, so the body doesn’t have to produce as much. Once the body “burns out”, insulin must be injected into the body to lower blood glucose levels.
Exercise has shown to be more effective than medication in most instances. Exercise makes the body more sensitive to insulin, and even lowers blood glucose without insulin for hours after exercise. There are no negative side effects of exercise, and too many positive ones to list!
Exercise is only part of the treatment for diabetes, nutrition plays a key role in reducing the glucose load on the body so blood glucose can be reduced long term and consistently.
Eating the wrong foods may derail your efforts in the gym, so we aim to give you the knowledge, therefore the power to monitor foods and modify your nutrition to your needs.
To read more about the Diabetes Program at NAH click here.