After lunch, do you often fancy something sweet? It has to do with the sugar spike in your blood. It comes to him, among other things, after a heavy meal. How to fight it? Scientists managed to come to surprising conclusions. It turns out that a short walk after lunch is enough to lower blood sugar. Get the details.
Walk to lower your sugar levels
Until now, walking after a meal was associated primarily with keeping fit. Specialists also argued that in this way we are able to influence our metabolism and improve digestion. Now it turns out that a short walk after lunch can also help us lower our blood sugar levels. Thanks to this, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is reduced.
Researchers who have dealt with this topic presented their findings in the journal Sports Medicine. They looked at the results of seven studies that compared the effects of sitting with standing or walking on health indicators, including insulin and blood sugar levels. They found that a light walk after a meal, at intervals of as little as two to five minutes, “had a significant effect in moderating blood sugar levels”.
“In the five studies reviewed in this article, none of the participants had pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes. The other two studies looked at people with pre-diabetes. Participants were asked to stand or walk for two to five minutes every 20 to 30 minutes throughout the day. All seven studies found that it only took a few minutes to walk after a meal to significantly improve blood sugar levels compared to sitting at a desk or on the couch. As the participants took a short walk, their blood sugar levels rose and fell gradually. For people with diabetes, avoiding sudden fluctuations is a key element in coping with the disease »- we read in the expert analysis.
In the report, researchers also recommended doing housework or finding other ways to move around after a meal. The experts also have advice for people who spend many hours at their desks. According to them, a mini-walk, lasting two to three minutes, is more practical than running on a treadmill.
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An earlier study from 2016, conducted among people suffering from type 2 diabetes, confirms this thesis. They found that walking for 10 minutes after each meal helped lower blood sugar levels more than a half-hour walk at other times of the day.