Adequate fluid intake is essential to living well at any age, and being dehydrated can impact your health and your athletic endeavors. While it is harder to stay hydrated when exercising in the heat, you can dehydrate under other conditions—even during exercise in cold temperatures if you wear lots of clothing and sweat underneath it. As people grow older, they also begin to lose some of their normal thirst sensations, thereby increasing the risk for dehydration unless they m

Much of the research on length of life for individuals living with type 1 diabetes is pessimist, which makes a new study released recently a breath of fresh air. Data were collected for the ongoing nationwide, multicenter, Finnish Diabetic Nephropathy (FinnDiane) Study that tracked the death rate of 2,639 study participants for an average of 11.4 ± 3.5 years (1). In this study, participants’ leisure time physical activity was reported via a self-report questionnaire. Importan

Living with diabetes often leads me to wonder if what I’m experiencing—particularly when it’s an irritated joint or an overuse injury—is a consequence of being a regularly physically active person, getting older, or having diabetes, or some combination of those. Which one of these is causing my joint issues? Is it possible to know? I will attempt to answer these questions based on my deeper dive into the published research. Personally, I have managed to avoid most overuse inj

Make no mistake: sitting less time overall is a good idea for myriad health reasons, but is sitting as bad for you as some would suggest? Is it really the new smoking? In 2017 alone, a slew of new research studies has looked at various health detriments associated with prolonged sitting, even in adults who exercise regularly. For adults with type 2 diabetes, bouts of either light walking or simple resistance activities benefit not only their glycemic responses to meals (1; 2)

How do you know if you need to see you’re a healthcare provider for a checkup or medical clearance before you start any exercise training? You should have regular checkups at least annually with your doctor or another healthcare provider if you have any type of diabetes. This helps you keep on top of any problems that may pop up over time that have nothing to do with being physically active. However, you probably don’t need to see a doctor before you start doing easy workouts

A new year is coming, so you’ll have a new set of New Year’s health resolutions to break by March! That’s a pessimistic viewpoint, you say? Well, it’s an established fact that all the fitness clubs are swamped in January and empty by the time spring comes. As we all have experienced, it’s easy to start out with good intentions to be more active or manage diabetes better, but much more difficult to follow through and stick with these lifestyle changes. While using fitness trac

Muscle mass is likely the most important tissue in your body when it comes to managing insulin action and blood glucose levels. It is also one of the most important things to maintain to live well and independently as you age. In other words, you can’t afford to lose your muscle mass if you want to live long and well. What exactly is muscle? It’s comprised of about 20 percent protein, with the rest mainly made up of water plus a few minerals and some carbohydrate and fat stor

Athletes around the world are now competing (and competing well) with diabetes. Scott Dunton, a professional surfer with type 1 diabetes, is just one example of how exercise does a body good! However, there are some things I wish I had always known about exercising with diabetes... Being active has always made me feel better, physically and emotionally. But here are some other things about exercise that I wish someone had told me years ago. 1) Exercise can help erase your bl