What causes blood sugar to rise during exercise?

"Shut up and move your legs." Everyone with diabetes has heard this sentence. Scientific and reasonable exercise is very important and necessary for diabetes patients to control blood sugar and strengthen their body. However, if you do not follow science and exercise blindly, it will not only be detrimental to your health. , and may worsen the condition. This article summarizes seven major misunderstandings about exercise for people with diabetes. Only by getting rid of these misunderstandings can you enjoy the benefits of exercise.

Myth 1: Anyone can exercise

Although exercise has many therapeutic benefits, not all people with diabetes are suitable for exercise. People with diabetes who have the following conditions need to be carefully evaluated when exercising and cannot exercise blindly:

① Blood sugar is very high (fasting blood sugar is greater than 16.7mmol/L) or fluctuates greatly (high and low blood sugar often occur throughout the day);

② There is active fundus bleeding;

③ Renal insufficiency and large amounts of proteinuria;

④Combined with unstable angina and severe hypertension;

⑤ Severe loss of foot sensation and foot damage and gangrene.

Recommendation: Before people with diabetes plan to carry out a long-term exercise, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive examination including blood sugar, liver and kidney function, urine routine and microalbuminuria, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, fundus, feet and nervous system examination. A physical examination is performed to determine whether there are any complications and their severity. The doctor will then decide whether the patient is suitable for exercise based on the results of the physical examination.

Myth 2: Housework is also exercise

Although doing housework is also exercise, it is still different from exercise therapy. Exercise therapy must meet a certain intensity, time and continuity, while housework is often trivial. Not only is the intensity of exercise low, but it often lacks continuity. In fact, it does not consume many calories, which usually does not meet the needs of treatment. amount of exercise, so it cannot replace physical exercise.

Myth 3: Exercise only lowers blood sugar, not raises it

The impact of exercise on blood sugar can either lower or raise it, depending on what kind of exercise you do. Various endurance aerobic exercises (such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc.) can indeed lower blood sugar, but strenuous and high-intensity anaerobic exercise (such as racing, tug-of-war, weightlifting, etc.) can actually increase blood sugar. .

Because strenuous exercise will stimulate the body's stress response, increase the excitability of the sympathetic nerve, and secrete a large amount of hormones such as catecholamines that antagonize the action of insulin, leading to an increase in blood sugar and even inducing diabetic ketoacidosis.

Myth 4: The greater the intensity of exercise, the better

The intensity of exercise should be within your ability, based on your age, weight, blood sugar level, cardiopulmonary function status, etc. It is not appropriate to be too high or too low. If the intensity of exercise is too high, blood sugar will rise instead of lowering, and it may also induce adverse consequences such as cardiovascular accidents (such as angina, increased blood pressure); if the intensity of exercise is too low, the therapeutic effect will not be achieved.

Recommendation: People with diabetes are more suitable for "aerobic exercise" with moderate to low exercise intensity, which is what we usually call "endurance exercise", such as walking, jogging, mountain climbing, aerobics, Tai Chi, swimming, and cycling. wait.

High-intensity strenuous exercise (i.e. "anaerobic exercise") is not suitable for people with diabetes. In order to ensure the effect of exercise, the heart rate during exercise should reach "170-age". For example, a 50-year-old patient requires a heart rate of 170-50 = 120 beats/min during exercise.

Misunderstanding 5: It’s good to be able to exercise. There is no need to pay attention to exercise time.

Not all people with diabetes are suitable for exercise. For example, exercising on an empty stomach (or before a meal) can easily induce hypoglycemia or cause significant fluctuations in blood sugar; exercising immediately after a meal can hinder the gastrointestinal digestion and absorption of food and cause stomach discomfort or indigestion.

Recommendation: It is best for people with diabetes to start exercising 1 to 2 hours after a meal. During this period, the blood sugar level in the body is relatively high. Exercise can help reduce postprandial blood sugar and is less likely to cause hypoglycemia.

In addition, the most important thing about exercise is persistence. You cannot fish for three days and dry the net for two days. Some people with diabetes live an irregular lifestyle. They practice "violent exercise" continuously in their free time and do not practice at all when they are busy. This can neither ensure the effect of exercise, but also cause blood sugar fluctuations, which is very detrimental to blood sugar control. Generally speaking, people with diabetes should exercise at least 5 times a week, each time lasting 30 to 40 minutes.

Misunderstanding 6: You can choose any sport

When people with diabetes choose sports, they should fully consider their own condition, combined with personal interests and hobbies, and make reasonable choices based on their ability.

Obese patients with type 2 diabetes, if their cardiopulmonary function allows, can choose some moderate-intensity exercises, such as jogging, mountain climbing, cycling, playing table tennis, badminton, etc.; patients with cardiovascular disease are suitable for low-intensity activities, such as walking and fitness Exercise, Tai Chi, etc.; for elderly people with diabetes (especially those with poor physical fitness), walking is the safest and most suitable way to exercise.

Diabetes patients with retinopathy should avoid jumping, colliding, or holding their breath forcibly. They can choose to swim indoors, but not diving. Patients with high risk of diabetic foot are best to choose non-load-bearing sports such as swimming, rowing, and cycling to avoid Lower limb injuries; patients with diabetic nephropathy can choose to walk and avoid overly intense exercise or exercise that holds their breath hard and quickly raises blood pressure.

Misunderstanding 7: Warm up and relax, what the hell is this, it’s unnecessary

Some people with diabetes exercise right from the start and never warm up, nor do they relax after finishing exercise. This is wrong. When exercising, you should first do 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up activities, such as Tai Chi, walking, health exercises, etc., and gradually increase the intensity of exercise to adapt the cardiovascular system, improve the flexibility of joints and muscles, and avoid muscle strains.

Don't stop immediately after exercise. You should perform 5 to 10 minutes of relaxation activities, such as slow walking, self-massage, etc. On the one hand, this can help relieve muscle fatigue and reduce muscle soreness and discomfort. On the other hand, it can promote blood return and prevent sudden cessation of exercise from causing blood congestion in the limbs, a decrease in blood return to the heart, and accidents such as cerebral syncope or arrhythmia.

Finally, I wish all sugar lovers to get rid of misunderstandings about exercise and fully enjoy the happiness and health brought by exercise.