A Walk A Day Keeps Your Blood Sugar Under Control

Health is not all about weight loss! There are plenty of great reasons to eat well and move more other than shedding pounds.

Understanding Your Bloodsugar

Research has proven that getting regular exercise is beneficial for your heart health, sleep, mood, and more. One new study suggests that just a short walk after eating can help to control your blood sugar.

Here’s how:

Let’s start by better understanding how our blood sugar works. Basically, your blood glucose or blood sugar is what gives your body energy. It comes from food, particularly starchy foods like bread and potatoes.

Once the sugars from food reach your blood stream, your body releases insulin which helps to carry that sugar to your muscles to be used as energy.

Eating too much sugar can have detrimental effects on your body, causing big spikes and crashes that can leave you feeling crappy and can eventually lead to long-term health issues like insulin resistance or diabetes.

How Walking Could be Your Secret Glucose Weapon

While it is important to moderate your intake of sugar by eating well, new studies are showing that there are other ways to help control your blood sugar, one of those being something we already love here at TeleHealthNP- walking!

Normally, your blood sugar starts to spike about an hour or so after eating. However, when participants in the study went for a walk after their meal, their blood sugar levels both rose and fell more gradually. Additionally, insulin levels in test subjects stayed more stable.

Remember when I said that your body uses sugar for energy? Well, when you use your muscles soon after a meal, the movement uses up the excess sugars sitting in your bloodstream, sort of clearing the way for more.

What’s more is that subjects didn’t have to walk for long to feel the effects. About five minutes is plenty of time to benefit.

Make it a Routine

If you have a dog, they will be glad to be included in your new routine, or you could simply put in your headphones and listen to the new episode of your favorite podcast.

However you plan to get moving, I hope you are inspired to add a lunchtime or evening walk into your routine.