[FirdausByte] Type 2 Diabetes - Exercise To Lower Your Cholesterol and HbA1c Levels

By Beverleigh H Piepers

Many studies have shown exercise does help to normalize blood sugar and lower the Hemoglobin A1c percentage in Type 2 diabetes. The benefit of exercise for both types of diabetes is to prevent macrovascular complications, which includes heart disease, strokes, and peripheral vascular disease.
A sedentary lifestyle is associated with Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Researchers at the UCL Institute of Child Health in London, United Kingdom decided to look at:

• television viewing,
• hours of sitting at work, and
• the risk of diabetes and heart disease

in British citizens born in the year 1958.
This particular study was published February 2012 in PLoS One, and included 7660 people divided into four categories by number of hours they spent per day watching television or sitting at work...

• the least sedentary group spent 0 to 1 hour per day sitting at work or watching television, while
• the most sedentary group spent at least 3 hours per day sitting at work or watching television.

HDL or "good" cholesterol was lowest in both men and women with the highest number of hours watching television. Men with the highest number of hours sitting at work also had the lowest HDL levels.
The risk of the metabolic syndrome was significantly elevated for men in the highest categories of watching television or sitting at work.
If your work requires you to use a computer or attend meetings, sitting is inevitable, but getting up 15 minutes earlier each day and going for a walk before work will mount up to over an hour of extra walking in a work week.

• try a short walk outside during your lunch break each day for some added physical activity.
• if you live within a few miles of work, you can save on gas by riding a bike or walking to work each day, weather permitting.
• during your break, take a walk around the parking lot. Bring an umbrella if necessary.

When you are sitting at your desk, you need not be entirely without physical activity.

• lift your arms over your head and stretch them as high as you can.
• sit up straight and reach for the ceiling for thirty seconds.
• tap your feet on the floor for 30 seconds to get some circulation going.

Giving up all your favorite television shows doesn't sound like much fun, but are there times when you look for something to watch that's not too boring? Why not limit television viewing to only those programs that are really worth watching?
In the time saved from television viewing, going for a walk is a pleasant way to put time into physical activity while getting some fresh air. Or you can schedule time at the gym. If you make a regular schedule it will be easier to keep up a few hours of exercise every week without putting them off. The same goes for classes in physical activities. Why not look into a class that meets every week for folk dancing or volley ball?
Unless you have a physical abnormality, there is no limitation on what you can do. You just need to select an activity you enjoy and will continue to take part in.

How do you start to create a healthy lifestyle today so you can avoid heart disease, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease?
For nearly 25 years Beverleigh Piepers has searched for and found a number of secrets to help you build a healthy body.
The answer isn't in the endless volumes of available information but in yourself.

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