On Valentine’s Day, the CDC published a report documenting trends in diabetes incidence from 2002-2015. The take-home message: Rates of diabetes, both type-1 and type-2, are increasing in people less than 20 years old, especially in racial and ethnic minority populations.
Results like this make no-cost interventions more important than ever. (I will not get into the cost of diabetes here. But, I’m fortunate to have a job with great benefits, and I still feel the cost of diabetes daily.)
Which brings me to this week’s paper. It is a follow-on to the one I shared last week, which showed that relaxation breathing lowers blood sugar spikes.
Here, the same author published a review paper on breathing, glycemic response, and insulin sensitivity:
Review: Can yoga breathing exercises improve glycemic response and insulin sensitivity?
(Click Here to Read Full Summary)
Overall, this review concluded that slow breathing exercises can improve glycemic control and increase insulin sensitivity.
The glucose-lowering effect of slow breathing is likely due to reduced sympathetic activity and, subsequently, reduced glucose production by the liver. That is, slow breathing reduces your body’s internal production of glucose.
The improved insulin sensitivity is likely related to reduced sympathetic output, but could also be due to improved tissue oxygenation.
These breathing techniques are so simple, yet they could be life-changing to diabetics.
If you feel inspired, please share the CDC study and this paper (or my summary of it) with someone you know with diabetes or pre-diabetes.
It’s a small, no-cost step in the right direction toward improving the lives of diabetics.
In good breath,
Nick
P.S. 100 Mile Ruck Thank You!
Thank you all for the support during the 100-mile ruck! It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I finished.
Overall, it took me 35 h 45 min to finish and I took approximately 225,000 steps to cover the 100 miles.
Including those who walked with me, we put in a combined 291 miles for chronic disease and raised ~$2K for HHPF! Simply amazing! THANK YOU!