Exercise Strengthens Metformin’s Effects
Metformin is the most widely used diabetes drug worldwide, with approximately 80 million prescriptions filled out 2015 in the United States alone, according to the IMS Health National Prescription Audit. And according to brand-new research from the University of Georgia, workout can assist enhance the blood-sugar-lowering impacts of this medication.
Exercise Enhances Metformin, Research
Metformin reduces blood glucose levels by increasing insulin sensitivity and lowering the amount of glucose that is released into the bloodstream by the liver. Generally, it works for about 4 or five years prior to another medication is needed. To see whether exercise could be used along with metformin to not just lower blood sugar levels, but to increase the quantity of time people can efficiently use the medication, researcher and doctoral prospect Melissa Erickson dealt with a group of individuals with diabetes taking the drug. Participants consumed a high-carb breakfast consisting of waffles and syrup, and then walked on a treadmill for 50 minutes while their blood glucose levels were constantly monitored.
Erickson found that, when metformin and exercise were combined, blood sugar levels were lower than when metformin was used alone. Compared with sitting, walking after consuming reduced peak after-meal blood glucose levels by 21%.
“It’s not how much exercise you do, but when,” kept in mind University of Georgia Professor Kevin K. MucCully, PhD. “And for this population, the timing after you eat — particularly after breakfast — will have an impact on your blood sugar.”
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Longer-term studies are required, Erickson notes, to fully comprehend how metformin and workout interact.
Erickson is currently hiring participants for the second phase of the research study, which will look at what impacts work out has on individuals with diabetes who are taking metformin together with a 2nd medicine to control their blood sugar levels. Evaluating normally takes two days and can be done over a weekend. Those who are interested can call her by e-mail at melissa9@uga.edu.
