By: Sheila Kun RN, BSN, MS, CPN, FCCP
Salesian Cooperator

If you have read our Care Ministry article last week, you would have an earful of the impact of physical inactivity. I will continue to share with you the key points illustrated in “The Everything Guide to the Insulin Resistance Diet” written by Marie Feldman and Jodi Dalyai.

Everyone should exercise. There is nothing new about this recommendation. Yet the National Health Interview Survey reveals that less than half of the US adult population gets the recommended 30 minutes of daily physical activity and 33 percent are not active at all. Inactivity is thought to be one of the key reasons for the surge of obesity and diabetes in the US, and inactivity and obesity promote insulin resistance. Interestingly, research shows that exercise improves insulin resistance for up to 48 -72 hours post-workout, but that as soon as you stop exercising for 3-5 days, the benefits can begin to wane. 

The good news is that it’s never too late to get moving, and exercise is one of the easiest ways to start controlling your insulin resistance. Being more active is an important part of your insulin resistance plan. The resounding theme of exercise compels me to explore how exercised improve our health. For these upcoming weeks, let us un-pack this topic so that we can embrace the idea of exercise into our life-style. We will get to know how exercise helps us and what is the easiest way to make exercise a sustainable routine in our life.

Going back to the discussion of how regular activity and exercise improves insulin resistance, we will begin with the understanding that lower blood sugar levels are achieved when the glucose in your blood is used for energy during and after exercise; in fact this improvement can be as much as 40 percent above normal.

Next week we will focus on how exercise combats insulin resistance.

Your homework from the Care Ministry this week: it is time to make your resolution that you will exercise everyday – at least 30 minutes daily.

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