You likely already know that exercise is an essential part of any healthy lifestyle. Whether you’re hitting the gym to lift weights, taking a yoga class, or kicking a soccer ball around with your friends, getting up and moving every day will do wonders for your wellness. And as it turns out, one of the best things you can do in order to lower your blood sugar and cholesterol (and maybe even shed a few pounds!) is also one of the simplest. Health experts say that walking for just a few minutes after every meal can be a total gamechanger.
To learn more about the benefits of getting on your after eating, especially when it comes to blood sugar, we spoke to nutrition expert Mary Sabat MS, RDN, LD. She told us all about how this healthy habit can regulate glucose and insulin. Read on for all of her insight!
How walking after meals lowers blood sugar
Whether you're trying to lose weight or just want to keep your overall health in check, walking after meals is one of the best habits you can implement. As Sabat tells us, "walking after a meal helps with weight loss and diabetes by lowering blood sugar levels without the need for as much insulin." Here's how it works: When you get your body up and moving, your body is able to use more of the glucose in your body, effectively lowering your blood sugar.
Additionally, your body doesn't require too much insulin as it uses that glucose, which means walking will also help regulate insulin levels. Sabat describes insulin as "a fat storage hormone that can sometimes lower sugar too much, causing hunger and excessive eating," so keeping your levels balanced is essential to your body's ability to manage your blood sugar—and, in turn, your overall health.
Other benefits of walking after meals
Walking after meals is great for you in more ways than one. In addition to lowering blood sugar, Sabat explains that post-meal exercise can also lower cholesterol and blood pressure. "High sugar levels are the number one cause of high bad cholesterol," she explains. "The LDL or bad cholesterol is high is rich in triglycerides which are high after a meal. Walking after a meal lowers triglycerides, thereby lowering cholesterol." Nice!
So, what's the right amount of time to walk every day in order to reap these benefits? While getting 30 minutes of exercise daily is recommended by health experts, Sabat points out that you may find it easier to break that time up throughout the day. "I find that clients find it easier to comply to short bursts than to find the time for one longer walk," she says. "In addition, as stated above, benefits for weight, heart health and managing diabetes are greater when spread out after each meal in shorter bursts." Got it—we can't wait for our after-dinner walk later!
