To begin lets discuss the types of exercise available to you. Exercise generally falls under two main categories; ‘Cardiovascular Training’ and ‘Resistance Training’. Cardiovascular training focuses on improving the amount of oxygen that is delivered to your muscles which in turn improves your endurance and stamina. There are many choices when it comes to cardiovascular exercise which include cycling, jogging and swimming. Resistance training focuses on improving your strength using short, explosive movements. When it comes to resistance training the choices are a little more limited and involve the use of free weights, machine weights or your own body weight.

So which type is best for your diabetes and your overall health? Well, both types have their advantages. Cardiovascular training is more effective at stimulating the body to use blood sugar for energy but weight training has been linked with significant improvements in blood sugar control. My advice is to do a mixture of both cardiovascular training and resistance training as part of your regular exercise routine. This will allow you to gain the maximum benefit from each type of exercise which include:

1) IMPROVED BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL:- As mentioned above both types of exercise can help you control your blood sugar levels by prompting your body to burn more blood sugar. In fact in some cases of type 2 diabetes exercise has been so effective that it has removed the need for insulin injections.

2) IMPROVED RECEPTIVENESS TO INSULIN:- One of the key problems facing diabetics is a lack of insulin in the body. However, research suggests that regular exercise can improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin. Therefore, by exercising regularly diabetics can use the limited insulin they have available more effectively.

3) REDUCED BODY FAT LEVELS:- Both types of exercise can help you burn fat in different ways. Cardiovascular training stimulates fat burning directly (both during and after exercise) whereas building muscle mass through resistance training can slightly increase the number of calories you burn each day. Fat cells are more resistant to insulin than muscle cells and so by burning them off through exercise you can make your body more receptive to insulin.

Although regular exercise is a fantastic way to moderate your diabetes it is very important that you take the following precautions.

• Always monitor your blood sugar levels before, during and after exercise using a portable glucose meter. Although exercise can help control your blood sugar levels you need to be aware if any fluctuations occur.
• Always keep insulin and glucose nearby so that you can quickly address any potential blood sugar fluctuations.
• Make sure that you stay properly hydrated whilst working out as dehydration can can cause further blood sugar fluctuations.
• Talk to your doctor before beginning an exercise plan. They will know about your health better than most people and therefore will be able to advise you of any further precautions you need to take when exercising.

Regular exercise can do wonders for your health, your appearance and your diabetes. If you want to command greater control over your diabetes then you should start getting physical today. Begin with just a daily brisk walk and then progressively work your way towards more intense forms of exercise. Before you know it you will have made huge steps in your health, your fitness and your diabetes management.

Every intention has been made to make this article accurate and informative but it is intended for general information only. Diabetes is a medical condition and this article is not intended as a substitute for the advice of your doctor or a qualified medical practitioner. If you have any concerns regarding any form of diabetes you should seek the advice of your doctor immediately.

Diabetes experts on Friday urged a switch to a diagnostic test for the disease that’s more useful to primary care doctors and more convenient for patients because it doesn’t require fasting.

An international panel recommended that a test known as the hemoglobin A1c assay be the new standard test for diabetes. In the past, this test has primarily been used to monitor if diabetes treatment is working. However, the committee — which unveiled its recommendations at this weekend’s American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans, La. — said the A1c test’s long-term measurement of chronic blood sugar control problems provides a better diagnosis than current “snapshot” tests.

The test has not been adopted by all doctors for diagnostic purposes. Many of them prefer to rely first on the tried-and-true techniques such as the standard fasting plasma glucose test (FPG) and the less common oral glucose tolerance test — tests that the A1c screening would unseat as the new standard.

Still, other physicians have welcomed the new screening. Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the Clinical Diabetes Center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, said many colleagues have been “waiting years for this to happen.”

Proponents favor the A1c because it measures average blood glucose over the preceding two to three months, rather than just at one point in time, the researchers said.

“A1c values vary less than fasting plasma glucose values, and the assay for A1c has technical advantages compared with the glucose assay,” said Dr. David M. Nathan of Massachusetts General Hospital, who chaired the expert committee.

“Also, testing for diabetes using A1c is more convenient and easier for patients who will no longer be required to perform a fasting or oral glucose tolerance test,” Nathan added.

The recommendations — made jointly by the American Diabetes Association, the International Diabetes Federation, and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes — were published online today in Diabetes Care and will appear in the July issue of the journal.

Can Doctors Agree on A1c?
Many primary care doctors already use A1c screening as a first-line tool for diagnosis, while others use it in combination with FPG. One reason for caution about the A1c in the past, doctors said, has been concern about standardization in A1c screenings — that is, whether doctors agree that a given result indicates that a patient has diabetes.