My Diabetes Information Blogs
Exercise Like Crazy, But Don't Run Away from Insulin
01/28/09
Nutrition & Exercise, Living Well, Treatment Options, Prevention, Disease Basics, General
As you know, there are certain ethnic groups that run a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. If you belong to one of these noble heritages, you have a lot to celebrate that far surpasses the worries associated with the risk of type 2 diabetes.
This article from an Arizona news outlet discusses Michelle Reina-Long's fitness strategy for helping her control her diabetes. She exercises religiously. She inherited a fifty percent chance of developing diabetes as a Pima Indian.
Keep in mind that you do not have to be a triathlete to earn the benefits of exercise. Triathlon training is the extreme. Your goal should be to spend 4-5 days exercising for about 30 minutes. If you can eventually extend one or more weekly exercise sessions to more than 45 minutes, the benefits will multiply.
One misconception is the myth that insulin causes misery. Michelle Reina-Long expresses a fear of insulin because she thought that it made her grandmother miserable. There is a small chance that she suffered side effects from insulin. My Diabetes Information is not familiar with her grandmother or her health history. Nevertheless, we can tell you that very few people have misery because of insulin. We often see that people are miserable because of diabetes, but they blame it on the insulin, or associate the misery with the insulin.
Insulin is not a perfect solution for diabetes. However, it is immensely helpful. My Diabetes Information suspects (which implies that we could be wrong) that many people delay insulin therapy for too long, and fail to take advantage of its ability to lower blood sugar levels and reduce the risks and complications of diabetes.
Of course your doctor will be able to give you the best answer. We just hope that this is good food for thought. Insulin lowers blood sugar, whether you use your body's own, or insulin that you inject or pump into your body.
We applaud Reina-Long for her commitment to exercise. It is probably the most powerful or helpful of all diabetes strategies. We do wonder if she may win a little more of a health advantage if she were to introduce some insulin therapy. It may not be time for her, yet. Furthermore, we would be thrilled if she never needed insulin. Too bad the story did not report her A1C scores or blood sugar levels.