[excerpt] If you are diabetic, the National Diabetes Education Program (http://ndep.nih.org) recommends that healthier lifestyle include eating the correct portions of healthy foods, eating less salt and fat, staying at a healthy weight, giving up smoking, taking your medication as prescribed, brushing and flossing each day, checking your blood glucose levels as recommended by your physician and getting 30 to 60 minutes of activity on most days.
For the average person, exercising regularly is a good idea, but for a diabetic exercise is critical for many reasons. For starters, it will help you maintain a healthy weight, while storing too much fatty tissue makes insulin absorption more difficult.
Exercise makes you leaner and increases the body’s sensitivity to insulin, helping the body to better absorb and more effectively use insulin. Exercise even causes your body to make insulin and can reduce your need for medication.
It additionally reduces cardiovascular risk factors, strengthening your heart, lowering blood pressure, cholesterol and other fats in your blood. All these factors add up to regular exercise being a must.
Diabetes also raises risk of heart disease,
If you’re diabetic and sold on the idea of starting an exercise program, your first step is to speak to your doctor. Once you’ve nailed down which form of exercise, how much, and how often, these diabetes exercise precautions will help you exercise more safely. For starters:
Wear good footwear. Shoes that are in good condition and appropriate for whatever activity you are doing. Also wear cotton-polyester seamless socks and check your feet after each workout for blisters, cuts, or cracks.
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