My 10 year old son was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I have talked with other parents that have lowered their children’s blood sugar with exercise. If there is not enough insulin in the body to use the blood sugar, how can exercise lower blood sugar levels?

To manage Type 1 diabetes, you must supply your body with insulin as it needs it. The pancreas has a job that is lost in Type 1 diabetes that you may not think about. It pays attention to the glucose level in your body, minute to minute and releases insulin as needed. For the individual who has Type 1 diabetes, there is no way for the pancreas to perform this task as a healthy pancreas can.

My suggestion to you would be for the two of you to monitor your son’s blood glucose levels, record them and have an individualized diabetes care plan drawn up by a health care professional that matches his food and activity level. Remember, the major fuel for exercise is glucose. Exercise can take some glucose out of the blood to use for energy during and after exercise, which lowers the individual’s blood glucose level.

PL