About Diabetes
The Basics
If you have diabetes, your body lacks the capacity to control your blood glucose, the primary sugar circulating in your blood. Normally, after you eat a meal, it gets digested and broken down into easily absorbed molecules, glucose being one of them. A simple sugar that comes mostly from the carbohydrate that you eat, glucose must be present in your blood in sufficient quantity that your brain and nervous system can take it up and use it as their primary fuel. If you’ve ever experienced a low blood sugar reaction, otherwise known as hypoglycemia or a low, which can happen when your blood sugars drop below 65 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), or 3.6 millimolar (mmol/L) if you live outside the United States, you’re familiar with the effect that it has on your ability to think straight and react normally! For instance, if you ever find yourself thinking, "Gee, I know what 2 + 2 equals, but I just can’t figure it out right now," you’re probably low.
In a non-diabetic person, when blood glucose levels start to rise above normal (70 to 99 mg/dl fasting, or 3.9 to 5.5 mmol/L), the pancreas senses the increase and releases a hormone called insulin to help lower them. Insulin works by binding to receptors on cells in muscle and fat tissues, the primary places where glucose can be stored. In the case of diabetes, either your pancreas has a greatly reduced capacity to release insulin (resulting in insulin deficiency) or the insulin that you release doesn’t work effectively enough in removing excess glucose from your blood (meaning that you’re insulin resistant). In either case, or often when both scenarios are in effect, your blood sugars rise too high after you eat, when you’re stressed out, or when you’re ill. Your liver is the organ responsible for making sure that you have enough glucose in your blood. In some people with diabetes, it becomes insulin resistant and releases too much glucose, especially overnight when they go for long periods without eating.
Although functioning is usually easier with your blood glucose a little too high (compared with too low), the long-term health problems that may be caused by elevated blood sugars related to poorly controlled diabetes are best avoided. Among the list of nasty possibilities are heart disease, premature death, nerve damage (both central and peripheral), amputations, joint problems, vision loss, kidney failure, birth defects in your offspring (if you’re female), and more. We know by now that keeping blood sugars as close to normal as possible is the best way to prevent many, if not all, of these potential health problems. That’s where regular exercise, a good diet, effective use of medications, and a blood glucose meter come in handy.
For more information about diabetes, please visit the American Diabetes Association.
Does the Type of Diabetes You Have Matter?
Regardless of what type of diabetes you have been diagnosed with, exercise can throw you a curveball when it comes to blood glucose management. The risks and precautions vary somewhat with the type, so understanding the differences among them is important before we get into the nitty-gritty of exercise and specific recommendations for regimen changes.
Content reprinted with permission: Diabetic Athlete's Handbook, Your Guide to Peak Performance, by Dr. Sheri Colberg. Human Kinetics, November 2008.
For more information about the book, click here.