Sunday, May 23, 2010

A Simple Exercise for Diabetics (and anyone wanting to lose weight!)



There is no doubt that exercise improves glucose levels, increases insulin sensitivity, improves glucose utilization by the muscles, reduces the vascular and neurological damage caused by high glucose, and improves weight control. However, time and energy are at a premium for many people with diabetes. Although any exercise is better than no exercise, I recommend the following exercise regimen for my patients:

Individualized Interval Training

FOR 12 TO 15 MINUTES ONLY:

1. Do a vigorous aerobic activity as fast and as hard as you are able in your current state of health. This may be running, going up and down stairs, doing jumping jacks, dancing vigorously, bicycling, or any aerobic gym machine.

2. When you are breathing hard and your heart is pounding, STOP! This may be after ten seconds or five minutes, depending on your state of health and your exercise capacity.

3. Rest until your breathing and your heartbeat normalize.

4. Do the aerobic activity vigorously again.

5. When you are breathing hard and your heart is pounding, STOP!

6. Rest until your breathing and your heartbeat normalize.

7. Repeat this until 12 to 15 minutes is up.

This type of exercise breaks down fat over the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours, improves the strength of the heart muscle, lowers blood sugar and cholesterol, builds muscle, reduces vascular inflammation and increases the feel-good chemicals in the brain.

This exercise is tailored to fit your individual needs. You do not go beyond your limit because your breathing and heartbeat tell you when to stop. Over time the amount of time you can exercise increases, and the amount of time you rest decreases. Your body improves at its own individual rate and ability. Be patient with it. It knows what it’s doing!

Conclusion to these blogs on Diabetes (yes, we're finally coming to an end!!)
This information was designed to inform the person diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes about the nature of the disease process, the effect of medications, and ways to improve and at times even stop the disease process.

When each person takes individual responsibility for their own health, rather than depending completely on the health system to tell them what to do, they will find the ability to change their life and change their health.

In my experience, many who follow the Sugar Stabilization Program, along with supplementation and exercise, can reduce, and in many cases for Type 2 Diabetes, come off of their diabetic medications under the supervision of a physician. The less medication needed, whether insulin or oral medications, the less long term side effects of those medications. And the more balanced the glucose and insulin levels become, the less long-term complications from the disease process occur.

The earlier a person starts a program like this the more effective it is. Someone who has been dealing with diabetes for many years has more damage to clean up, so it takes longer to balance the blood sugars. But be patient, because the more you do for yourself, the better you will be in the long run. If it took you a long time to come to this state of health, it may take one or two years to improve. But it will be worth it!!

Best wishes to you all in your pursuit of health!

My next few blogs will be on the effects of hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Did you know that people who have low blood sugar have less self control? Stay tuned!

Until we meet again,
Dr. Judi

10 comments:

JennVan said...

Do you completely rest in between the intense workout parts or just do it less intensely? So if I were doing stairs, could I run up and down them really fast until I was about to pass out and then lay on the floor until I could move again? :) Or would I just want to do the stairs slower until breathing normally?

Dr. Judi said...

Actually, either way. Stopping completely is fine. But if you want to walk around slowly without expending any real energy, that is fine too. The key is to stay in aerobic respiration (making energy from oxygen). When we are breathing hard, it means our cells needs more oxygen than they are getting, so it is time to stop and let the oxygen catch up.

Larry Stay said...

I read about vitamin K while gettin a tire patched on Saturday. It was in a glossy supplement sales brochure posing as a magazine from Life Extension. They recommend a blend of K1, K2 and two longer lasting forms of K2 called MK-4 and MK-7. It seems to be good for vascular health, bone health and the NIH website shows studies on other health benefits.

What do you think? Does your new line of supplements have K in its various forms?

Dr Oz was talking about breathing through Himilayan salt as an aid to allergies. Do you have any experience or knowledge from your reading?

Linda D. said...

I have been doing the short burst exercise for a couple of months now. I really like the results.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Judi,
I have recently been diagnosed with Celiac after years of medical problems that just keep getting worse (PCOS, Metabolic Syndrome, Hypothyroid, extremely low HDL cholesterol 27 and Vitamin D level of 8. I have also recently had my first kidney stone). Although I feel so much more energy after only a few month gluten free, I see many people online with the same group of conditions. Will simply being gluten free reverse this? And why are all of these things related?

Michelle

Dr. Judi said...

Larry,
I do believe Vitamin K is very important and we do have it in the SuperMulti Plus, but not in its various forms. Ours is Vit K2, the most prominent Vit K. Most studies have been done on this form of Vit K, and it works well, though some studies are showing the various forms may work even better.

I had a patient bring in Himilayan salt that had a light bulb in it to warm it and they put their feet on it to "cleanse" and help with pain. It didn't seem to help them much. I don't know anything about it with allergies. It would seem to me that the Himilayan salt rocks wouldn't be much different from the Real salt rocks you can buy here in Utah. If you try it, let me know how it works!

Linda,
I'm glad you're getting good results with the interval exercising. It's quite an effective exercise, and simple.

Michelle,
I'm so glad that you finally discovered your problem. I test most of my patients with chronic problems for a gluten allergy. Celiac disease (an allergy to gluten that destroys the intestines) is more prominant than most people realize, and can put a tremendous stress on the body, causing hormonal imbalances, autoimmune diseases, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, etc.

Cortisol, the body's stress hormone, comes from cholesterol, as do all of the sex hormones AND vitamin D. When the body is stressed, needing more cortisol, it throws everything else made from cholesterol out of balance, the cholesterol rises to make up for it (the most common cause of high cholesterol is stress) and if there isn't enough, drops too low. I like to see total cholesterol levels around 165-190. Lower than that causes problems.

Anonymous said...

I have some concerns about my low temperature in the AM and my tiredness, foggy brain, joint and pain muscles, my swollen body and the fact that no matter what I do I do not loose weight. My symptoms point to hypothyroidism...

I am curious to learn what is your approach to this health challenge, some of your recommendations and the best supplements and strategies to use to mnage/cure this situation. Thanks in advance. Angie

Unknown said...

Although I have not confirmed it with a Dr. yet, I believe I'm having problems with my gall bladder. I'm considering trying a gall bladder flush as outlined by this site href="http://www.sensiblehealth.com/Products.xhtml&currency=us">Sensible Help Gall Stone Flush any cautions...recommendations before I try it?

Dr. Judi said...

Alan,

I'm sorry, I am not trained in Chinese Medicine, so I can't give you any advice on these herbs.

I have found that gall bladder "attackes" can be related to food allergies. You may want to see an integrative medical doctor that is familiar in testing for food allergies, and regular allergists don't test for it very well.

Consider finding a physician through the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) or the American College for the Advancement of Medicine (ACAM).

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