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Choosing the Right Product
A variety of
quality
of life issues can also be improved through physical activity. These include
range of motion, pain reduction, and emotional well-being.
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This
diagram illustrates one of the ways physical activity helps
to lower blood glucose levels. Increasing the number and activity of
insulin receptors (marked in red) on the surface of muscle cells
accelerates the uptake of glucose. A special enzyme called “glut 4,”
(the orange opening) produced during exercise, enhances glucose uptake
in a non-insulin-dependent manner. These physiologic changes help the
body to become much more efficient at metabolizing glucose for energy.
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Who is At Risk for Hypoglycemia?
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Fear of
hypoglycemia is
one of the major obstacles to exercise for people with diabetes and their
healthcare providers. However, it is important to remember that hypoglycemia
will not occur unless a patient is taking insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents –
sulfonylureas or meglitinides. No other diabetes medications or treatments
produce hypoglycemia. |
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Those who use premixed insulin (a combination of NPH and regular or rapid
insulin) are at the greatest risk for hypoglycemia during exercise due to the
untimely and inconsistent peak of the daytime NPH insulin. Those taking oral
medications that stimulate the production of extra insulin by the pancreas are
at a small but ever-present risk of hypoglycemia.
Attention must be given to making intelligent adjustments to minimize
hypoglycemia risk in these individuals.
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Instructions
Take Another Course
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