The Power of Movement: Diabetes and Exercise
With the warmer season on our doorstep in South Africa, now is the perfect time to get moving. Today, we going to breakdown how exercise does more than strengthen muscles and lift your mood. Exercise directly helps to keep blood sugar levels steady. For people living with diabetes, balanced activity is a powerful tool to boost energy, prevent complications, and build a healthier general lifestyle.
When you move, your muscles use glucose for energy. This lowers the amount of sugar in your blood. For example, a short walk after a meal helps your body use up the sugar from food more effectively than if you sat down straight away.
Exercise also makes your body more sensitive to insulin, the hormone that moves sugar from your blood into your cells. This prevents large spikes and dips in blood sugar and keeps energy levels more stable.
The benefits go beyond blood sugar levels
The positive effects of exercise reach far wider than just managing diabetes. Regular physical activity improves heart health, lowers blood pressure, reduces stress, and helps maintain a healthy weight. It also boosts your mood and can improve sleep.
Even light activities make a difference. All forms of movement support better blood sugar control. The key is to keep active consistently, rather than focusing only on intense workouts.
How much activity is enough?
For people living with diabetes, exercise is extremely beneficial, but too much of it can be dangerous. Over-exercising may cause blood sugar to drop too low, a condition known as hypoglycaemia. This can lead to dizziness, weakness, blurred vision, or even fainting if not treated quickly. That is why it is important to find the right balance and to always monitor your sugar levels before and after activity.
Experts recommend aiming for about 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. This works out to around 30 minutes a day on five days of the week. Activities such as brisk walking, cycling, or swimming are excellent choices that are gentle on the body but still effective.
If 30 minutes feels difficult at first, you can divide it into shorter sessions. A ten-minute walk after breakfast, lunch, and supper adds up to half an hour by the end of the day. These short bursts of movement are especially effective at lowering blood sugar after eating, while still keeping activity safe and manageable.
Keeping kids active
Many children spend long hours on screens and very little time being active. This increases the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes later in life. Simple activities like cycling, skipping or playing sport help keep blood sugar balanced and build healthier habits. Parents can support this by making regular family activity part of the routine.
At Ringpharm, we believe in supporting healthier lifestyles within our communities. From guidance to care, our pharmacists and teams are here to walk the journey with you and your family, helping you make choices that strengthen your health and wellbeing.
This blog post is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. For personalised health guidance, consult with your healthcare provider or visit your local Ringpharm pharmacy.