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Hyperglycemia & Exercise

Hyperglycemia is a common condition whereby the body has overly high levels of blood sugar. Whether you are diabetic or not, learning to manage your hyperglycemia through rigorous application of diet and exercise is the key to living as normal a life as possible. Exercise can help you control the effects of hyperglycemia, allowing you to manage your weight and offset the impact of this potentially dangerous condition.

  1. Hyperglycemia

    • Hyperglycemia occurs where your body fails to produce or properly utilize insulin, a storage hormone that it used to transport blood sugar to cells for use. Symptoms of hyperglycemia include nausea, possible vomiting, sweet-smelling breath and an excessively dry mouth. According to the American Diabetics Association, the best way to deal with hyperglycemia is to prevent it in the first place with diligent blood sugar management and adherence to a proper diabetes diet.

    Exercise and Hyperglycemia

    • Exercise can act to curb the effects of hyperglycemia by providing an additional incentive for the body to mobilize and use the glucose floating in the bloodstream. When exercising, your body's heart rate and metabolic processes will kick into "high gear," signaling excess energy needs. This will encourage your body to transport blood sugar into the muscles as quickly as possible to provide a ready energy supply, lowering your blood sugar levels and curtailing the symptoms of hyperglycemia.

    Warning--Type I Diabetes and Exercise

    • If you have type I diabetes and are experiences signs of hyperglycemia, exercise can actually cause your blood sugar to raise further, so be careful. Exercise only works to lower blood sugar in the presence of adequate amounts of insulin. As type I diabetics cannot produce insulin, exercise will do nothing more than exacerbate the problem, potentially creating a life-threatening situation.

    Using Exercise to Mitigate Hyperglycemia

    • Aside from the unique situation presented by type I diabetics, all others can use exercise to help curb hyperglycemia. For best results, intensity is the key--this means that something as simple as brisk walking will not suffice. To ensure optimal effects, stick to types of exercise like sprinting or weightlifting--both will help to lower your blood sugar levels back within a reasonable tolerance.

    Considerations

    • Although the exercise must be intense to be effective, intensity is a relative issue. Thus, if you are unaccustomed to regular exercise, do not think that you need to start sprinting to lower your blood sugar levels--more likely than not you will just end up hurting yourself in the process. Instead, stick to an exercise that is intense for your particular level of fitness. If you are in less than optimal shape, something that will increase your heart rate to a fairly high level while getting the blood flowing will do.

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