LONDON — Rigorous workouts lasting as little as three minutes may help prevent diabetes by helping control blood sugar, British researchers said on Wednesday.
The findings published in the journal BioMed Central Endocrine Disorders suggest that people unable to meet government guidelines calling for moderate to vigorous exercise several hours a week can still benefit from exercise.
“This is such a brief amount of exercise you can do it without breaking a sweat,” said James Timmons, an exercise biologist at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, who led the study.
“You can make just as big as an effect doing this as you can by doing hours and hours of endurance training each week.”
Type 2 diabetes, which affects an estimated 246 million adults worldwide and accounts for 6 per cent of all global deaths, is a condition in which the body gradually loses the ability to use insulin properly to convert food to energy.
Very strict diet and vigorous, regular and sustained exercise can reverse type 2 diabetes, but this can be difficult for many people. The condition is closely linked to inactivity.
Timmons and his team showed that just seven minutes of exercise each week helped a group of 16 men in their early twenties control their insulin.
The volunteers, who were relatively out of shape but otherwise healthy, rode an exercise bike four times daily in 30 second spurts two days a week.
After two weeks, the young men had a 23 percent improvement in how effectively their body used insulin to clear glucose, or blood sugar, from the blood stream, Prof. Timmons said.
The effect appears to last up to 10 days after the last round of exercise, he added in a telephone interview.
“The simple idea is if you are doing tense muscle contractions during sprints or exercise on a bike you really enhance insulin's ability to clear glucose out of the bloodstream,” he said.
The findings highlight a way for people who do not have time to work out a few hours each week as recommended to improve their health, he added.
His team did not look for other important benefits to health that come from exercise, such as lowered blood pressure or weight control, but said another study had shown similar benefits to heart function.
But Prof. Timmons said getting people to exercise even a little could translate into big savings for health systems that spend hundreds of million of dollars treating diabetes.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Exercise for the lazy, or busy.
Arthritis Exercises Are Good For EVERYONE
Yesterday was the 2nd week I have attended the Shape Up Tennesse 2009 Class. I know I said I thought the exercises would probably be hokey and not be of much help. Geesh……I’m proven wrong again!!
I never realized how much my right shoulder had tightened up until I tried to do a specific exercise. Hold your arms out to your sides with your palms facing down and then bring your arms up straight over our head with th back palms of your hands touching. If you are doing it right, your arms should be touching both sides of your head.
The first few times I tried this exercise….yikes…my shoulder cracked like I had just broken a twig. Then of course, it really hurt and burned like heck. I only did that one a few times because I couldn’t stand the pain. The good news is, I practiced it all week and was able to do it without any problem yesterday. It still makes a little crinking noise but it’s not painful like the first week.
Another exercise which was really good for me is putting one hand over the shoulder and reaching back as far as I can while using the other hand to reach behind your back (as if unhooking a bra) and reaching up as high as possible. Then you have to switch and do it the other way. I sure feel that one in my shoulders.
These exercises are better than any physical therapy class for me. I remember going for physical therapy twice in my life. Once for my back. Those whirlpool baths were only good while I was in it. Once out….back was right back to where it was. I went to therapy for my left shoulder. Now that was really goofy. She put this electrode thing on my shoulder. It didn’t do a darn thing. After my third session, I quit going. I ended up joining the gym at the hospital and started working out on the weight machines. That really helped. Now it’s my right shoulder that needs some limbering up.
Each week I’ll share another exercise or two that I’ve learned at this class. Becoming more limber will help to make a person more mobile. Thus, increased exercise which will equal weight loss. I love how they all work together.
Eating Habits That Cause You To Gain Weight
If you have gained weight and wonder why, you need to rethink what got you to the point you are at. You need to analyze what can trigger you to over eat and to eat when you aren’t even hungry.
Some of the things you need to consider are:
1. Are you a clock eater? I remember as a kid, our family ate by the clock. Breakfast was at 7:30 am, lunch was at noon, and supper was at 5:00 pm. Hungry or not, we had to eat at those times. You need to listen to what your body is telling you and don’t eat if you aren’t hungry.
2. Do you clean your plate? This was another thing I had to do as a child. We were not allowed up from the table until our plate was clean. Even today, I find it hard to leave food on my plate. You need to get rid of the guilt and realize it’s ok to leave food when you feel full.
3. Do you eat when you’re emotion level is high?
If you are eating when you are upset, mad, feeling sorry for yourself, or plain ole tired, you need to find another source of relief other than food. (Chocoate use to be my comfort food) Take a walk, do some volunteer work, go window shopping (my favorite), or go vist a friend. Sometimes I’ll just jump in the car and take a ride…never sure where I’ll end up.
4. Do you eat because there isn’t any else to do?
This is the hardest one for me. Late at night when I can’t sleep and there isn’t a thing on tv….I find myself navigating towards the refrigerator. Face it, at 1:00 am…..there isn’t much to do. I’ve started reading more, working suduko puzzles and also crocheting. I’m making baby booties to sell in our hospital gift shop.
Take a look at all these factors and identify which ones are keeping you from losing weight. Realize your limitations. Get rid of the food that is your worst enemy. Start making good food choices. We all know a salad is better than a candy bar.
When you have had a great day, you should congratulate yourself. Look back on that day and see what made it success for you and care it into the next day. If you faulter one day, don’t beat yourself up about it. Analzye why it happened and come up with a plan to keep it from it reoccuring.
Weight loss is not easy. I don’t care what anybody says. It is a struggle. Anytime I see the words “fast” and “easy”, I know it’s bologna. Stay focused and determined and you will win the battle. We each have our own weaknesses and strengths in our weight loss battle. Identify yours and you will be successfu