About Disti Shah

Her fitness mantra is “do not start with a diet that has an expiration date, instead, focus on a healthy lifestyle that will last forever”. A post graduate in Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Diabetes Educator, her specialties are Diabetes management and Cardiac Care. A trekking enthusiast, Disti has gained experience in the field of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics. She is keen on bringing together her acquired knowledge on nutrition and other health aspects with people’s goals to achieve a healthy life. She says for her fitness is not being better than someone else; it’s about being better than who she used to be. “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great,” she adds.

June 13, 2022 By Disti Shah 7 Comments

Why You Should Exercise To Manage Diabetes

The facts and myths about diabetes are plenty, especially on the kind of foods one should have or not have, whether one should exercise to manage diabetes, etc. But, it’s when I saw my dad exercising one day, a thought struck me – is it not important to test a diabetic before exercise? Is diet all that one needs to focus on?

What if he exercises vigorously and his sugar levels drop down? At what sugar levels should we allow or not allow a person to exercise? What should be the intensity and frequency of the exercise? What type of exercise should a diabetic do?

These questions obviously led me to explore and research more about diabetes and exercise. I would like to share some information about what Diabetes is, what are its types and how regular exercise can control your Diabetes.

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease where there’s a high level of sugar in the blood, either due to less insulin sensitivity or because of low insulin secretion or no insulin levels in the body.

There are three major types of diabetes. The causes and risk factors are different for each type:

Type 1 diabetes: can occur at any age, but it is most often diagnosed in children, teens, or young adults. In this type, the body makes little or no insulin. Daily injections of insulin are needed. The exact cause is unknown.
Type 2 diabetes: makes up for most of the diabetes cases. It often occurs in adulthood, but teens and young adults are now being diagnosed because of high obesity rates. In such cases, either the body becomes less sensitive to insulin or insulin secretion decreases.
Gestational diabetes: is high blood sugar that develops at any time during pregnancy in a woman who does not have diabetes, and disappears once the pregnancy is over.

Can You Exercise To Manage Diabetes?

We all know that exercise provides multiple benefits but does it help diabetics as well? In fact, it does! Here are some of the changes you can experience if you exercise to manage diabetes:

Exercise helps lower blood sugar levels
It helps you feel better
Helps maintain proper body weight
Keeps the heart rate and blood pressure lower
Keeps blood fat levels normal
Improves insulin sensitivity
Helps in maintaining normal blood circulation in the feet

Now that we know a few of many reasons why exercise is important for a person with diabetes, let’s see which exercises can benefit diabetics.

Which kinds Of Exercise Are Best For Diabetics?

To help manage diabetes, you can try:

30 minutes of “moderate intensity” aerobic activity – 5 days a week.
“Vigorous intense” aerobic activity for 20 minutes or more a day – 3-5 days a week.

In addition, you should add flexibility and strength training to your routine.

Flexibility activities 5-7 days a week.
Strength training 8-10 exercises, 10-15 repetitions of each exercise, 2-3 days a week.

Calories Per hour and the types of moderate and vigorous exercises

Moderate physical activity for one hour	Calorie burnt per hour
Hiking	370
Light gardening / Yard work	330
Dancing	330
Golf(walking and carrying clubs)	330
Bicycling (<10mph)	290
Walking (3.5mph)	280
Weight lifting (light workout)	220
Stretching	180

Vigorous physical activity for one hour
Running / Jogging (5mph)	590
Bicycling (>10mph)	590
Swimming (Slow freestyle laps)	510
Aerobics	480
Walking (4-5 mph)	460
Heavy Yard work (chopping wood)	440
Weight lifting (vigorous effort)	440
Basket ball (vigorous)	440

Source – Dietary Guidelines for Americans – 2005 *(These values are not specifically for Indians as they are taken from American journals)

When Should One Exercise?

The best time to exercise will vary with the schedule. Preferably, one should pick the same time for exercise each day so that if one is on insulin, the adjustment of insulin dosage is manageable.

Morning exercise may cause your blood glucose to drop less than if you exercised later.
If you are on insulin or taking pills that work by making more insulin, evening exercise may result in low blood glucose while you sleep.

Remember -Your Diabetes Management can be adjusted to suit your lifestyle. Your lifestyle does not have to be adjusted to fit your diabetes.

After knowing what kind of exercise and at what time we should do them, let’s see what precautions should be taken while doing them.

Safety Tips for Active Diabetics

1. Get your doctor’s okay before you start exercising.
This is especially important if you are older than age 35, have had diabetes for more than 10 years, have any complications of diabetes, have not exercised in a long time, or have heart disease. Exercise has the same effect on blood glucose as insulin. It lowers blood glucose, making you more sensitive to insulin. This is a benefit of exercise that can also pose a problem if it lowers your blood glucose too much.

2. Avoid low blood sugar levels
Low blood sugar levels are when the glucose levels dip below <70mg/dl. Common symptoms include shakiness, weakness, abnormal sweating, and anxiety, tingling of mouth and hunger, headache, visual disturbance, confusion, seizures, coma. Monitor your blood glucose before and after working out, especially when beginning or modifying the exercise program. Always keep a 15g of fast-acting carbohydrate (powdered sugar/Glucose tablets 3-4) with you to treat Hypoglycemia.

3. Check your blood glucose levels pre and post workout
If you blood glucose is below 70 –

Take 5g of carbohydrate right away
Wait for 15 minutes
Check again – if still below 70, then have another 15 grams.

It should work now.

If the blood glucose is high – Fasting is>250 and ketosis is present.

Or >300 with or without ketosis. Avoid exercise with such high blood sugar levels.

4. Eat before heavy exercise
If you’re going to exercise around mealtime, you should eat the meal first. When possible, allow half an hour for digestion. Solid foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, etc. are digested slowly than liquids. They provide protection for at least 2-3 hours. When it is possible to choose the exercise time, try to begin the exercise 30-60 minutes after a meal or snack.

Remember – Nothing works better than experience and frequent blood glucose testing.

5. Diabetic complications

Retinopathy: Patients with retinopathy are at risk for retinal detachment and vitreous hemorrhage associated with vigorous-intensity exercise. For those with retinopathy, vigorous aerobic and resistance, weight-bearing exercises should be avoided.
Nephropathy: Should not indulge in vigorous-intensity exercise as protein excretion increases post-exercise.
Peripheral Neuropathy: Should take proper care of feet to prevent foot ulcers. Feet should be kept dry. Avoid the wrong type of socks and shoes. Avoid tight elastic bands and ill-fitted shoes (they reduce circulation). Avoid wearing thick or bulky socks (they can fit poorly and irritate the skin). Rather wear light colored cotton socks that dissipate heat faster. Moisturize your feet – but not between your toes- that could encourage a fungal infection. Use a moisturizer daily to keep dry skin from itching or cracking. Consider non-weight bearing activities as they may be better tolerated and aid healing.

6. Stay hydrated
Proper hydration is essential during exercise. Exercising during hot weather requires special attention. Drinking extra fluids should begin an hour or two before you begin exercise to manage diabetes. A general rule is to drink 8 ounces of fluid for every 30 minutes of vigorous activity.

7. Check your pulse rate
It’s important to check the pulse periodically to see if you are exercising within your target zone. Right after you exercise, take your pulse – count your pulse for 10 secs and multiply the no by 6.

Compare the numbers on the right grouping in the table below.

Age	Target Heart range zone
20 years	100-150 beats/min
25 years	98-146 beats/min
30 years	95-142 beats / min
35 years	93-138 beats/ min
40 years	90-135 beats/min
45 years	88-131 beats/min
50 years	85-127 beats/ min
55 years	83-123 beats/min
60 years	80-120 beats/min
65 years	78-116 beats/ min
70 years	75-113 beats / min

Source: Exercise and Your Heart, NationalHeart, Lung, and Blood Institute/American Heart Association, NIH Publication No. 93-1677.

The good news is that if someone regularly exercises, these benefits can be permanent, and for someone with diabetes, it can mean reducing medication. If younger members of families with a predisposition to diabetes exercise regularly, they could avoid diabetes altogether.

A single bout of exercise can benefit the body’s sensitivity to insulin for 16-18 hours and have positive effects on blood glucose control (glucose absorption) for 24-48hours.

But these effects wear off between 60-72 hours. Hence, staying active most of the time is imperative.

I just want to convey that Diabetes cannot take your hope, faith, attitude, courage and happiness away from you. We are the authors of our own health. Let’s overcome it, no matter what type or what level of disease it is.

Now that you know why you should exercise to manage diabetes, get out there and begin your journey! To read more on Diabetes, check out Healthy Reads.

For further guidance and motivation by certified experts, join the GOQii Diabetes Care program. It’s India’s only diabetes program that is driven by Smart Science and Personal Coaching to improve Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), Postprandial Blood Sugar (PP), reduce HbA1c levels and let you win gold! You can subscribe here: https://store.goqii.com/diabetescare.

#BeTheForce

November 8, 2017 By Disti Shah 4 Comments

What is Bloating?

There is a lot of confusion around ‘bloating’, a common problem that we come across in our day to day life. In fact, we are seeing a virtual epidemic of bloating in the current times. And, abdominal bloating not only looks bad but also causes lot of discomfort.

But, it’s not the end of the road. The good news is that it is one of the conditions which can be avoided, but before learning that, we need to first understand what the most common causes of bloating are….

Constipation

Too little fibre, fluids, and physical activity may lead to constipation, which can result in bloating.

Eating too fast

Eating quickly and not chewing your food well can cause air swallowing that leads to bloating.

Drinking too much of carbonated beverages

The fizz in carbonated drinks (even diet ones) can cause gas to get trapped in your belly.

Too much consumption of sugar free beverages

Too much sugar alcohol in artificially sweetened foods and drinks lead to bloating.

Food allergies and Intolerance can cause gas and bloating. But, these need to be confirmed by your doctor.
Medical conditions which may cause bloating are – Lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, Giardiasis (parasite infection), colon cancer, bacterial overgrowth etc.

Simple ways to avoid bloating.

Chewing the food thoroughly

Chewing breaks the food down from large particles into smaller particles that are more easily digested making it easier for the intestines to absorb nutrients from the food particles as they pass through. This also prevents improperly digested food from entering your blood and causing a wide range of adverse effects to your health, one among them is bloating.

Exercising regularly preferably including more abdominal exercise

Physical activity helps air bubbles pass through your digestive tract quicker, so that bloated feeling will disappear faster than if you lounge on the couch.

Avoiding too much of water during meals

Too many liquids during meals can cause dilution of digestive juices which may hamper the digestion process, also small amount of liquids aids digestion therefore moderation is a must.

Avoiding drinking using straws and narrow mouth bottles-

Leads to ingestion of excess air while sucking which may in turn cause bloating

Avoiding carbonated beverages-

When carbonated drinks are opened it allows the compressed carbon dioxide to form bubbles and escape into the air. Lots of the gas escape from your mouth or resurfaces from your throat as a belch. However, drinking lots of Coke at one time forces large amounts of the liquid into your stomach where the gas may pass to your intestines.

Eliminating smoking and Hukka

People who smoke or have Hukka inhale a lot of extra air than non-smokers

Avoid chewing gums and food that have artificial sweeteners-

Artificial sweeteners are difficult to digest and therefore should be taken in moderation as constant use may cause digestion problem.

Avoiding gaseous vegetables

Vegetableslike – beans, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, onions too much of raw vegetables, radish, melons, broccoli cause gas while the digestion process.

Avoiding foods with air whipped into them – soufflés, sponge cakes, and milkshakes
Avoiding long gaps between 2 meals

Limiting sodium intake – by specially avoiding processed foods as they have loads of sodium

Ann extra salty meal may lead to water retention, which causes bloating.

High fibre meals may aggravate bloating therefore keeping a check on the fibre intake.

The gas occurs because bacteria within the colon, unlike the intestine of humans, are capable of digesting fibre to a small extent. The bacteria produce gas as a by-product of their digestion of fibre. Therefore excess fibre may cause a bloating sensation.

Avoiding milk for people who are lactose intolerant

Your body may not be making enough of the enzyme lactase, which is needed to break down the lactose in dairy foods.

Have Probiotics

They have good bacteria in them similar to those that you already have in your stomach. Having probiotics in your diet will further aid in digestion and thus stop bloating.

Finally, to conclude, here are a few exercises that can help to reduce bloating