Jo's Cafe

Type 2 Diabetes: The More Exercise, the Better

From WebMD:

March 25, 2005 — Revving up exercise and physical activity could save the hearts and lives of people with type 2 diabetes.

Regular moderate physical activity is recommended for everyone, whether they have diabetes or not. Now, a new study spells out the benefits for people with type 2 diabetes.

“[Heart disease] accounts for more than 75% of total mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes,” write the study authors.

Over almost two decades, participants leading the most active lifestyles had lower death rates, including deaths from heart disease.

Being physically active benefited people with type 2 diabetes, protecting them from heart disease regardless of their age, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, total cholesterol, education, and smoking.

The bottom line: “Regular physical activity can be recommended to patients with diabetes whether or not they have other known [heart disease] risk factors,” write the authors.

You all know by now I HATE my treadmill, and have shunned it the last two days — and I can tell by my numbers that I have. Tonight — I will get back to it tonight. I am amazed how much my numbers climb if I don’t exercise. (Of course having a nasty, painful, non-functioning gall bladder inside doesn’t help either.)

I remember my grandmother wouldn’t let us sit around after we ate a large meal. She always shooed us outside to play while she took a walk down the drive way or went to work in her garden. She lived to a wonderful age of 93 – maybe if I can get my act together and under control, I can live that long too!