If you ask people why they exercise, chances are they won’t discuss blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity. But for many people, physical activity can be a game-changer for metabolic health.
Insulin is produced and released by the pancreas and is a regulator of various metabolic processes.
“Insulin plays many important roles, including converting glucose (also known as blood sugar, the simplest form of carbohydrate) into the energy your body needs to function, and signaling to the liver when it’s best to store sugar for later use. ” Rekha Kumar Chief Medical Officer established and former medical director of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
Combined with a healthy diet and guidance from a healthcare provider, exercise can help individuals maintain normal blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of related health problems. If you want to learn how to improve insulin sensitivity through exercise, read on.
What does insulin do?
Simply put, insulin guides the flow of sugar from the blood into the cells. When your metabolism is functioning normally, the sequence of operations is as follows:
- you take food
- Food is broken down into glucose by the digestive system
- Glucose is then released into your blood
- Your pancreas now detects an increase in blood sugar and secretes the hormone insulin
- Insulin helps transport glucose to cells for conversion into fuel.
As a result, glucose is cleared from the blood and any unused sugar is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscle tissue and converted to fat in adipose tissue for later use (e.g., the last miles or hours since you last ate). Blood sugar levels are now back to normal.
“(Insulin’s) ability to regulate blood sugar is critical, and when it doesn’t work properly, it can lead to a number of health problems, such as type 2 diabetes. When the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, we develop other health problems, Such as type 1 diabetes,” Kumar said.
What is insulin sensitivity?
Insulin sensitivity refers to how receptive your body is to insulin. “Having good insulin sensitivity means your muscles and fat only need a certain dose of insulin to convert carbohydrates into energy,” Kumar says.
However, if your insulin sensitivity is reduced, your need for insulin will be higher than normal, which requires your pancreas to produce more insulin to control your blood sugar levels. Over time, the stress of producing large amounts of insulin can cause damage to the pancreas, which may eventually stop functioning altogether. This is the way to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance
Insulin sensitivity refers to the body’s response to insulin, whether it is normal, high, or low, while insulin resistance is a state in which insulin sensitivity is significantly impaired or reduced.
“Insulin resistance occurs when cells stop responding to insulin, which can lead to increased insulin and blood sugar levels, which can subsequently lead to more worrisome effects, including type 2 diabetes,” Kumar said.
She explained that insulin sensitivity can be rigorously measured through a procedure called a clamp study, which involves intravenous administration of glucose. However, it is more commonly determined by fasting blood glucose levels, fasting insulin levels, and oral glucose tolerance tests.
The relationship between exercise and insulin sensitivity
Sedentary living can have an impact on blood sugar, among other dangers. But exercise can help improve insulin action in a variety of ways.
1. Insulin is activated by… physical activity
The energy demands of muscles during strenuous exercise trigger insulin to direct glucose into cells for use as fuel.
“So instead of just circulating in the blood, glucose ends up in the muscles,” says Todd Buckingham, Ph.D., triathlete, coach and exercise science professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, MI.
However, he explained that the increase in skeletal muscle absorption is temporary. Therefore, exercise needs to be done regularly to produce long-term effects. Exercise intensity also plays a role.
according to a article Posted in BMJ Open Sports & Exercise Medicine, Thirty minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise three to five times a week can improve insulin sensitivity. In some cases, incorporating smaller amounts of high-intensity training may yield greater benefits.
2. Weight loss improves insulin sensitivity
Regular exercise also reduces adiposity (body fat), which has been shown to improve insulin response. one Learning in 2017 Four groups of women classified solely on the basis of weight status and weight loss history were compared.
The researchers found that those who successfully maintained meaningful weight loss (15% of body weight) for at least a year were significantly more insulin sensitive than the other groups.
3. Muscles eat up glucose
Strengthening skeletal muscles through resistance training can also have positive effects. one cross-sectional study A positive correlation between muscle mass and insulin sensitivity was found in nearly 5,000 subjects.
“If you have more muscle mass, you have more tissue that needs glucose, so you can increase glucose uptake into your muscles,” Buckingham says. “Doing aerobic exercise and resistance training together is better than doing either one alone.”
4. Exercise suppresses cortisol
Stress triggers the release of the hormone cortisol, which then triggers the release of blood sugar to enhance the body’s response to stress. Resultant, chronic or ongoing stress can ultimately lead to reduce insulin sensitivity.
But there may be no better way to relieve stress than regular exercise. Exercise itself puts the body under temporary stress. Physical activity reduces it in the time between exercise, thereby lowering overall cortisol and thus reducing the effects of stress on blood sugar.
What are the best exercises to improve insulin sensitivity?
So, which type of exercise training is best for improving insulin sensitivity? Steady-state (aka “Zone 2”) cardio? High intensity interval training (HIIT)? weightlifting?
“All of the above is correct,” Kumar said. Since exercise increases the uptake of glucose into the blood, any form of physical activity is beneficial. However, there are some differentiating factors worth considering.
aerobics
Aerobic exercise, also known as “cardio,” “steady state,” or “zone 2 aerobics,” is any activity that raises the heart rate above normal resting levels. Walking, jogging, swimming and biking are common examples.
During aerobic exercise, the body uses oxygen to help produce energy and releases carbon dioxide at a faster rate, which is why you usually breathe faster. (Rather than being completely breathless during anaerobic exercise, which means you’re in a high-intensity zone.)
Most people are familiar with some form of aerobic exercise and may find it easier to take a daily walk around the neighborhood instead of taking a HIIT class or trying resistance training, for example.
The best exercise is the one you actually do. So if aerobics appeals to you, stick with aerobics.
HIIT
High-intensity interval training typically involves short periods of intense exercise during which you should feel breathless, interspersed with periods of rest. If you’re doing a workout that follows a Tabata (20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest for eight rounds), AMRAP (as many reps or rounds as possible), or EMOM (every minute of every move) format, you’ve done HIIT.
As mentioned above, there is some evidence that high-intensity exercise may be more effective than moderate-intensity exercise in helping to improve insulin sensitivity. There are some Research Research shows that higher-intensity HIIT (such as a 40-minute workout versus a 25-minute workout) may produce better results.
However, HIIT may not be suitable for everyone, including those who are new to exercise. If you decide to try HIIT, be sure to incorporate rest days and low-intensity exercise into your plan, as too much HIIT can lead to overtraining.
resistance training
Like aerobic, resistance, or strength exercise, training improves insulin sensitivity by increasing glucose uptake into the blood to fuel the muscles during (and after) a specific exercise session.
Buckingham recommends focusing on compound lifts that target large muscle groups. “Back exercises like squats, bench presses and rows all use large muscle groups,” he says. “We want to focus on large muscles because the more muscle mass we have, the better the glucose absorption will be.”
In addition, there are some evidence Focusing on individual muscles when lifting weights (such as one-legged calf raises or one-arm bicep curls) may reduce insulin sensitivity in other muscles in the body.
Yoga
Yoga and other low-intensity exercises that incorporate breathing, movement, stretching, and meditation may also help improve insulin sensitivity. one study The study found that patients with type 2 diabetes who participated in a 120-day comprehensive yoga treatment program experienced significant improvements in blood sugar control, insulin sensitivity and other key biochemical parameters compared to a control group that did not incorporate yoga into their treatment.
Bottom line: Any form of physical activity can help improve insulin sensitivity, but exercise alone is not a magic bullet. “It is a joint effort. A combination of effective strategies such as a low-carbohydrate diet, periods of fasting and a focus on strength training to build muscle are recommended,” Kumar said.
So before you get started, be sure to work with your healthcare provider to develop a holistic plan that suits your individual needs.