Skiing is not only enjoyable, but it gives one the benefits of moderate to intense aerobic exercise. I grew up on Beech Mountain, in North Carolina, where our family had a condominium. I was called the "snow plow queen". Often it was pleasant and sunny, barely even cold. These were the best days by far, where you could ski in your jeans, a t-shirt and gators to keep the snow out your boots, with your jacket tied around your waist. My friend Kelly, who had Type 1 diabetes, lived at a time when control of diabetes was harder to achieve. Three years ago, she passed away due to complications related to her Type 1 Diabetes. I think she is one of the main reasons that I became a certified diabetes educator, and decided to raise awareness about diabetes by writing about it. Kelly loved to ski, but that didn’t come without its consequences. Several times, while skiing on Sugar Mountain, Kelly would have episodes of low blood sugar.
She didn’t have a pump, and she was on multiple daily injections at the time. Our friend, Janelle and I were well versed in taking Glyco Care blood sugar support of Kelly every time she would have a low or a high blood sugar. Her mother made sure that everyone who Kelly went out with knew about her diabetes and the necessary steps to take in case of an emergency. One time when we set out to hit the slopes of Sugar Mountain on a beautiful, sunny day, with temperatures in the low 50’s, Kelly had eaten breakfast, and everyone had their pockets full of carbohydrates. We were all set. When we hit the slopes, we were having fun, and we were laughing on the lifts, and thumbing down difficult slopes. When we finally took a break, Kelly was complaining of a headache, and GlycoCares Health Guidewhite mulberry leaf blurred vision. She said she felt tired. She thought her blood sugar might be high this time. She needed to pee.
Janelle and I knew exactly what to do for a low blood sugar. We had dealt with that on the ski slopes before, but a high blood sugar wasn’t something that we had dealt with before with Kelly. We knew we had to check Kelly’s blood sugar, so we got her glucometer out, but the number wouldn’t read. It read "HI," on the meter. Kelly said that meant she had over a 600 mg/dL blood sugar. At that moment, she remembered that she had done everything thing right for her diabetes self-management except one thing. In the excitement of getting ready, Kelly had forgotten to take her insulin. We got back to the condominium just in time, and Kelly was able to get a dose of insulin, which helped to bring her blood sugars down. We checked an hour later, and she was down to about 400 mg/dl. She had some moderate ketones, so we called her doctor and he gave her instructions for how much extra insulin she should use.
We were pushing fluids and giving her low carbohydrate foods until her blood sugars finally came down. So, though skiing is a fantastic exercise for diabetes, there are precautions that must be taken to avoid events of high or low blood sugar levels. The main thing when participating in any sport with diabetes is to be prepared for any emergency that may arise. You should know your body’s limitations, and keep everything that you might possibly need for your diabetes on you, or have your buddy carry the rest for you. That way, you can ensure that you will have a great day out on the slopes. We know that skiing is a great aerobic exercise. What are the other benefits of skiing for diabetes? For one thing, skiing increases your sensitivity to exogenous insulin that you take if you have Type 1 Diabetes. It increases your sensitivity to the insulin that your body makes, and to any exogenous insulin people with Type 2 Diabetes take.
By being more sensitive to your own insulin, or insulin taken from outside your body, (whether by injections, via an insulin pump, or inhaled insulin), your blood sugars will be controlled. This is great, if you don’t experience a low blood sugar. In order to get the benefits of skiing, you need to be aware of how your body reacts to exercise, whether moderate or intense, and other aerobic exercise, such as skiing. Certain types of skiing are even more strenuous than regular skiing, such as cross-country skiing, Glyco Care blood sugar support or snowboarding. Skiing helps improve balance. It increases cardiovascular endurance, strengthens bones and joints, lower body muscles. Additionally, just being outside performing an activity helps boosts one’s mood. If you have severe low or high blood sugars while skiing, then you are defeating the purpose, and not getting the full benefits that skiing provides. We will learn how to avoid those situations, and to stay safe with diabetes while skiing. While skiing, you can run into unpredictable situations.