By It’s so easy that everyone can do this one thing.
Would you like to gain more energy and regulate metabolic health with one simple action?
Yes, it’s achievable for every single one of us.
Our metabolic health governs how our body uses and regulates energy.
So it’s quite easy to tell if your metabolism is doing well.
You should experience steady energy levels and great memory functioning — Plus, you can burn more fat and maintain your ideal weight.
And those benefits only scratch the surface!
Our body’s metabolic health is the ability to process glucose, which comes from the sugar in our foods.
When you eat carbohydrate-rich foods, it raises your blood sugar.
So we should aim to sustain a stable glucose level, which helps avoid post-meal crashes while avoiding chronic disease.
The best way to do this is by eating whole foods that are not refined, which helps keep that blood sugar steady.
Plus, we need to exercise because muscles give us the advantage of using glucose from the bloodstream as energy.
That’s why I suggest we all pick up some weights regularly and lift them for about 35–40 minutes.
But there is another way to regularly stabilise blood glucose — since we can’t always hang around in the gym after a meal.
You can do this easily by walking around the block in the comfort of your neighbourhood.
Studies show that a short walk around your neighbourhood after eating can immediately blunt a glucose spike and lower overall insulin levels. Therefore, walking regularly after a meal will help your metabolic health.
One thing you need to know about exercise and glucose
Although researchers are constantly studying how we can regulate glucose, you should remember that our muscles chew glucose if given a chance!
Exercise alone can boost your glucose uptake close to 50 times compared to those who always sit their bums down!
Here’s why we use more glucose through exercise
One: Activating an enzyme called AMPK, which stimulates glucose uptake. Exercise changes the behaviour of enzymes involved in glucose metabolism.
Two: Movement and muscle contraction get our heart rate going, increasing our breathing which channels more blood to move towards our muscles
Three: When muscles contract or shorten, they uptake more glucose.
So, as you exercise, your muscles are in search of glucose.
The body needs to release insulin to get glucose rushing into those cells.
Exercise allows muscles to absorb glucose without insulin.
So, we’re doing a wonderful thing when we aim to reduce insulin secretion after a meal! That means we keep insulin under the radar by controlling it as much as possible, eliminating any chances of becoming insulin resistant.
But when should you walk
Research says we can walk up to six hours after a meal, but some might get going a lot earlier!
A review published in 2016 focused on participants with various metabolic conditions (diabetes, obesity) and no conditions at all. Both groups curbed their glucose levels by exercising 30–45 minutes after a meal.
To better understand why exercise timing matters is the uptake of glucose.
As soon as you eat, glucose enters the bloodstream from the gut — instantly raising blood sugar.
When you exercise soon after (well, within 30 to 40 minutes), that glucose gets transferred into the muscle tissue, quickly reducing blood sugar.
Think of it this way: our body’s glycemic balance depends on how fast glucose enters our blood and how fast exercise draws this for fuel.
To gain this muscle advantage, you don’t need to power walk.
Instead, low to moderate brisk walking is all you need to do.
What you should not do
High-intensity exercise draws upon hormones stimulating the liver to produce enough glucose to meet that high-intensity energy demand.
Unfortunately, this also elevates blood glucose.
So, stick with low impact to burn glucose moderately, lowering the spike.
What if I don’t have thirty minutes?
Don’t have 30 minutes after a meal?
Don’t worry at all. Instead, you could walk briskly for one minute every half hour (or somewhere along those lines), which still benefits your daily glucose and insulin levels.
Again, working from home or the office is quite easy.
Ensure you’re not sitting for hours, which will harm your blood sugar.
Who already manages walking after each meal?
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