Exercise For Type 1 Diabetes

Exercise is important for everyone with diabetes, but if you have Type 1 diabetes, you’ll need to make sure that you keep your blood sugar levels within a safe range while you’re working out. If your fasting blood sugar level is above 250 and you have ketones in your urine, you should avoid exercise. Since exercise lowers blood sugar levels, you’ll need to adjust what you eat and how much insulin you take. To prevent your blood sugar from getting too low, you may need to check it more often while you’re exercising. Exercise is still important if you have Type 1 diabetes, as long as you can figure out how to balance your food and insulin requirements.

Exercise can affect your blood sugar levels for between six to eight hours afterward, but if you’re a regular exerciser, your levels may stay low for up to 36 hours! What you really want to avoid is having your blood sugar get too low during exercise. Let’s say you’re going to participate in an energetic gym class featuring weight training for 30 minutes. First, test your blood sugar level; if the sugar is low, eat a snack right before gym. Eating a snack right beforehand is also a good idea if you want to keep your blood sugar level stable as you’re exercising. As you begin the class, make sure you keep a snack nearby in case your blood sugar levels fall, and make sure that your teacher knows how to spot when you’re having a hypoglycemic episode. After class, test your blood sugar again.

If you’re going to exercise for more than an hour (say, you’re going for a long bike ride or an energetic trail ride on horseback), check your blood sugar during the exercise. Your doctor will recommend whether you should adjust your insulin doses before or after exercise (or both). It’s important to discuss exercise and your insulin requirements with your doctor; he or she will explain how to change your insulin treatment when you exercise. You should never try to make those changes on your own. If you use an insulin pump, you may disconnect the pump for sports activities, but if you keep the pump on, you can set the pump to deliver a temporary lower rate of insulin while you’re playing. Again, your doctor will work with you on this.

By: Owais Ahmed

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Learn more about exercises and diet charted by doctors for diabetic patients at my Diabetes Diet blog!