How Diabetics Can Improve Their Insulin Sensitivity

For people with diabetes, managing blood sugar levels properly is key to preventing health problems and complications. Insulin is a vital hormone that helps our bodies control blood sugar levels, by helping sugar move from our blood to storage cells. When diabetic people have cells resistant to insulin, sugar can remain in the blood and cause blood sugar levels to rise to unhealthy levels. 

Unfortunately, our pancreas’ can only make so much insulin. If it senses high blood sugar levels, it will continue to output insulin to try and reduce blood sugar. If this happens over and over again, our bodies can run out of insulin leading to diabetes. 

For these reasons, it is critical that we improve how responsive our cells are to insulin. This is known as insulin sensitivity and is very important for people with diabetes to understand properly. Thankfully, there are steps that we can take to improve insulin sensitivity and avoid high blood sugar levels or depleted insulin-producing cells. Keep reading to learn more! 

Shed Excess Weight

Did you know that losing excess body weight can help our bodies improve insulin sensitivity? This is because belly fat promotes the production of insulin-resistant hormones in the muscle and liver, which reduces insulin sensitivity and makes it more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. 

Thankfully, this risk can be reversed by losing extra weight and belly fat in particular. Studies have even shown that people that cut excess weight over the course of six months could cut their type 2 diabetes by half. There are many ways to lose weight by making healthy changes to our habits and lifestyle. 

Drink Green Tea Regularly

Green tea is a healthy drink and has also been found to help improve insulin sensitivity and blood sugar levels. It does this by reducing fasting blood sugar dramatically while simultaneously boosting insulin sensitivity. This may be thanks to the powerful antioxidants that green tea contains, such as epigallocatechin gallate. 

Combining Aerobic & Anaerobic Exercises

Exercising is one of the best ways to improve insulin sensitivity. To get the maximum advantage from your workouts, try to vary what you do by incorporating both aerobic and anaerobic activities into your schedule. Building muscle is great for improving insulin sensitivity and so are aerobic workouts like running or swimming. By combining the two types, insulin can be managed properly in different ways. 

Avoid Sources of Excess Sugar

Consciously choosing to avoid excess sugar is a great decision for diabetics and those looking to improve insulin sensitivity. There are so many unhealthy foods out there loaded with sugar, and some of them may surprise you. 

For example, take a look at any juices you may have in the fridge and check out their sugar levels. Processed foods, in general, can have a much higher sugar content than unprocessed fruits and vegetables. By avoiding foods with excessive sugar content, you can prevent blood sugar spikes that trigger the release of lots of insulin. 

Don’t Sit for Too Long

Sitting for too long can reduce insulin sensitivity and make it easier to develop belly fat. This is very detrimental to people looking to improve their insulin and blood sugar levels. Thankfully, making a conscious effort to get up and walk around every thirty to sixty minutes is all it takes to break up long periods of sitting. If you have a desk job, try to drink lots of water or green tea throughout the day so you have to make trips to refill your cup and also to use the bathroom. 

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many great things we can do to improve our insulin sensitivity. Living a healthy lifestyle and making conscious choices to control blood sugar is vital to being successful. Try to keep your weight under control by working out regularly and eating a healthy diet that avoids foods with excessive sugar content. 

Healthy beverages like green tea can also help your body improve insulin sensitivity by introducing powerful antioxidants into your system. Finally, keep moving throughout the day and avoid sitting for hours at a time without any breaks. By following these steps you can keep your insulin sensitivity at a healthy level and prevent health problems from developing in the future.