I don't recommend a lot of things from Medical Sources because they're sometimes into Misleading INFO however this Article is really good and I hope you read it.
A Womens Health Article from Yahoo Life
Here Medical Practitioners break down the science behind this, plus how to make walking for blood sugar work for you.
Meet the experts: Clare A. Kelly, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University and an endocrinologist at University Hospitals; Mir Ali, MD, medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA; Christoph Buettner, MD, PhD, chief of the division of endocrinology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
What did the study find?
The study, which was published in , had 11 adults sit in an ergonomic chair for eight hours, getting up only for bathroom breaks and to do a recommended exercise “snack." The researchers looked at five different exercise "snacks" (short bursts of exercise): doing one minute of walking for every 30 minutes of sitting, one minute of walking after 60 minutes, five minutes for every 30 minutes of sitting, five minutes every 60 minutes, and no walking. Each participant had their blood pressure and blood sugar checked throughout the study.
The researchers discovered that while most exercise "snacks" helped with blood sugar, walking for five minutes for every 30 minutes of sitting was the best at lowering blood sugar. This schedule also helped reduce participants’ blood sugar spikes by a whopping 58 percent compared to those who sat all day.
How does walking improve blood sugar?
There are a few things going on here. “Walking helps manage blood sugar through multiple mechanisms that largely center around the activation of skeletal muscle,” says Clare A. Kelly, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University and an endocrinologist at University Hospitals. “As our muscles are working to expand, contract, and strengthen, they take in glucose from our bloodstream as energy.”
This ends up causing blood sugar levels to drop, she explains.
Walking also helps to increase insulin sensitivity, which is how well your cells respond to insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels, says Christoph Buettner, MD, PhD, chief of the division of endocrinology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Why is it important to manage blood sugar?
Stable blood sugar levels are “crucial” for your overall health, according to Dr. Buettner. It helps maintain your energy levels, reduces cravings, and prevents long-term complications like nerve and kidney damage, he explains. Even your mood and memory can be impacted by your blood sugar.
On the flip side, "poor blood sugar control can lead to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and increased risk of heart disease,” says Dr. Buettner.
What kind of walking “snack” is best?
This particular study found that walking for five minutes for every 30 minutes of sitting was best for lowering blood sugar.
It's also worth noting that people also reaped blood sugar-lowering benefits by walking for a minute every 30 minutes. But walking every 60 minutes, either for a minute or five minutes, didn’t seem to impact blood sugar levels.
Is walking or running better for managing blood sugar?
Running has a slight edge here because it can also burn more glucose and increase your cardiovascular health, according to Mir Ali, MD, medical director of Memorial Care Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA. “But both are great options,” he says.
Dr. Buettner points out that intense exercise like running can cause temporary blood pressure spikes due to the release of the stress hormone cortisol. But, again, this is temporary and there are plenty of other perks to running, too.
But, for consistent blood sugar control, taking a quick walk after meals can be a "simple and effective strategy," says Dr. Buettner. And running can be incorporated for additional metabolic benefits.
What are other walking benefits?
How much time do you have? There are myriad walking benefits, but these are some of the biggies:
- It can boost your mood.
- It burns calories and may help you to lose weight.
- It can support better heart health.
- It can strengthen your muscles.
- It could lower your risk of diabetes.
- It may help you sleep better.
- It could boost your immunity.
- It can increase your longevity.
- It may help to reduce cravings.
There's no reason *not* to make walking part of your daily habit, especially if you spend lots of time sitting at a desk.
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