Recommendations
Rationale
Notes
Be as physically active as possible.
The more you move your muscles, the more efficiently insulin works to keep blood sugar levels in normal ranges.
Choose activities you like to do and vary with fun things such as dancing, bicycle riding, swimming, water aerobics or gardening.
Lift weights
3-4 times/week.
Targets muscles, directly improving efficiency of insulin.
Consider trying a type of training called Super Slow, in which weights are lifted and lowered very slowly. It has very little risk of injury.
Reduce stress
through various means—join a support group, meditate or do yoga.
Stress raises cortisol levels, which raises insulin levels. Managing stress effectively, therefore, should improve insulin function.
As an adjunct to stress control, massage might be of special benefit because it improves circulation.
Make sure to get 7-1/2 to 8-1/2 hours of sleep/night.
Sleep enhances carbohydrate metabolism.
Short sleepers have been found to have an impaired ability to process carbohydrates.
NOTE: To create a safe and effective program best suited for your needs, consult your health care practitioner. The above information should not be taken as medical advice.
Sources: Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Insulin Resistance (John Wiley & Sons, 2001) by Jack Challem, Burton Berkson, MD, and Melissa Diane Smith; Diabetes: Prevention and Cure (Kensington, 1999) by C. Leigh Broadhurst, PhD.