It takes 2 minutes of walking after eating to have incredible effects on your health

New research has found that walking for even 2 to 5 minutes a day right after eating can have beneficial effects on blood sugar levels. The reason? This is the time when your blood sugar tends to peak

Walking after a meal helps clear your mind and aids digestion. Scientists also found that walking for 15 minutes after a meal can lower blood sugarwhich can help prevent complications such as type 2 diabetes. But apparently just a few minutes of walking can activate these benefits.

In a meta-analysis, recently published in the journal Sports Medicinethe researchers looked at the results of seven studies comparing the effects of sitting versus standing or walking.

They found that walking after a meal, even for just two to five minutes, has a significant impact on blood sugar.

Read also: Walking: discovered new unexpected beneficial effect also on your knees

I study

In five of the studies evaluated by the article, none of the participants had pre diabetes o type 2 diabetes. The other two studies involved people with and without these conditions. Participants were asked to stand or walk for 2-5 minutes every 20-30 minutes over the course of a full day.

All seven studies showed that a few minutes of low-intensity walking after a meal was enough to significantly improve blood sugar levels compared to, for example, sitting.

When the participants took a short walk, their blood sugar levels rose and fell more gradually. Standing also helped lower blood sugar, but not as much as walking.

This is because even light walking requires a more active muscular effort than standing, and uses the fuel of food at a time when it circulates in abundance in the blood. In this way, therefore, the muscles absorb the excess glucose.

In addition to light walking, it has been estimated that even a short walk, within 60-90 minutes after a meal, can be particularly helpful in minimizing blood sugar spikes, as this is when blood sugar tends to reach maximum peak.

So, all people who work from home or in the office should take a short walk around the block between meetings or after lunch; if you really don’t have time, it is advisable to get up from your chair and stand up for a while.

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Source: Springer

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