Exercise and Insulin

Whether you are a diabetic or not, one of the things that you may not be aware of is the effect of exercise on insulin. Exercise increases the bodies sensitivity to insulin. In Type I diabetics (these folks are insulin dependent because their pancreas has stopped working to produce insulin), the more you exercise the less insulin you will need to inject. Part of this is in fact due to the amount of muscle in comparison to fat. The more muscle the more efficient the body is with it's use of insulin and the less you will need. In Type II diabetics (these are folks who may become insulin dependent, but usually start out on oral medications), the same is true, but the difference is that Type II diabetics are over weight and need to lose some weight. As they begin to exercise and change the amount of muscle in comparison to fat, they become less dependent on medications. Type II diabetics can often get off of oral medicines and regulate their disease with diet, once they lose weight.

Even if you are not a diabetic, exercise does increase the sensitivity to insulin. This is a good thing not a bad thing. It will just help you metabolize glucose more efficiently.