Diabetes is a metabolic disease that causes an increase in glucose level or causes high blood sugar. But a healthy and active lifestyle can make all the difference in preventing this disease.

Here’s what you need to know:

What is diabetes?
How does walking help control diabetes?
How to prepare for a walking workout?
Ways to integrate walking in your daily routine

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease because of which either your body is not able to make enough insulin (that moves sugar from the blood to the cells to be stored or used to release energy), or is unable to use the insulin that it makes. You can now calculate your blood glucose level with our online Blood Sugar Level Calculator.

How does walking help control diabetes?

Prevention is better than cure and since there is no cure for diabetes, it can be controlled at a very early stage. Adopting healthy practices like a balanced diet and exercising regularly can benefit the body. One of the activities that can help control diabetes is walking.

Walking is one of the most popular exercises to control diabetes. It is a moderate exercise that increases the pace of your heart beat and makes you breathe a little harder.

Walking exercise has various benefits:

Walking is an effective form of exercise that helps reduce blood sugar levels. Exercising daily helps the muscles absorb sugar from the blood and prevents it from building up.
Since people with diabetes are at a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, walking regularly can strengthen your muscles and improve cardiovascular fitness.
Walking 10,000 steps a day can burn calories and control weight, further reducing health risks.

How to prepare for a walking workout?

Before starting your walking exercise, a few points need to be remembered:

Wear loose comfortable clothes and athletic or running shoes.
Stretch and warm-up before walking. You can either spot jog or march in one place for a few seconds to loosen your legs and hips.
Start walking at an easy pace to get the blood flowing to your muscles.
Eventually, speed up to brisk walking to achieve an intensity that can benefit your health. Move your arms faster in coordination with your pace.
Finish your walk by slowing down at an easy pace.

Ways to integrate walking in your daily routine

It can be difficult to integrate physical activity or workouts in your daily routine. This is where walking exercise – one of the simplest metabolic activities – plays an important role. Take a look at simple ways to make walking a part of your everyday life.

Park your car further to get a few steps
Get off the bus/train a few stations early and cover rest of the area on foot
If you are sitting for long hours working on your laptop, then take a stroll every hour to stretch your legs
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Walk after every meal
Walk while talking over the phone

You can get a Day 1 cover for a chronic disease like Diabetes with the Activ Health – Platinum Enhanced Plan. It covers costs for tests and diagnostics too. Also get access to expert health coaches for coaching on nutrition, fitness and mental health and mental wellness counselling, and homeopathy tele-consultation. #ABHIKaro. Aditya Birla Health Insurance karo. For more information on fitness or nutrition, visit the Activ Living Blog.