Last month, a team of eight cyclists showed the sporting world that athletes with diabetes can not only compete against those without the disease, but they can win. In the Race Across America, a coast-to-coast cycling marathon, the group of eight cyclists with Type 1 diabetes, known as Team Type 1, completed the race in record time. The trip covered 3,021 miles and took five days, nine hours and five minutes, according to an article in the New York Times.
Type 1 diabetics do not produce insulin, the hormone that helps control blood sugar levels in the body. They must take insulin injections several times each day to keep sugar levels just right. While exercise is often prescribed as a way for those with Type 2 diabetes to control the disease, it can often be dangerous for those with Type 1 diabetes. That’s because exercise can lead to a dramatic drop in blood sugar levels, which can lead to fainting and even death in extreme cases.
The cyclists wore glucose monitors during the race and ate or drank when blood sugar levels fell too low. They also travelled with a doctor.
This all raises an important question: How were they able to maintain healthy blood sugar control while exercising at this high level?
The relationship between working out and blood suagr levels is often tied to the amount of insulin circulating in the body at the time of the workout, according to Matt Corcoran, MD, who penned a separate column for the blog Diabetes Mine.
There is no equation that will guarantee your blood sugar won’t drop too low when working out, he says, but there are factors that can help you predict and minimize your risk.
Reducing the amount of insulin you take, especially with moderate workouts, can lower the risk of low blood sugars. For those taking Lantus or Levemir, which are often injected once a day to control blood sugar levels between meals and overnight, Corcoran suggests trying to coordinate workouts with the tail end of coverage with those insulins. Both of the drugs are not supposed to peak, but many users experience “heightened activity” four two eight hours after injection, he says. Those on an insulin pump may want to adjust the basal rate an hour and a half to two hours before a workout.
It is difficult to alter long-acting insulin significantly and, in many cases, carbohydrate supplementation will be necessary. There is no surefire formula to guarantee precise control while working out, so it is necessary for people to learn what works best for them. They also need to be aware of lows that occur when they are not at the gym-even if they happen several hours later. That’s because they are often connected to the workout and they can impact the body’s recovery and energy levels during the next workout.
