Hot Bath Beats Cycling for Lowering Blood Sugar Levels for Type 2 Diabetics

Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | 18 AUGUST 2016 | Sarah Knapton

[nickcarraway]

A hot bath could be better than cycling at lowering blood sugar levels for type 2 diabetics, a study suggests.

Dr Steve Faulkner of Loughborough University investigated whether there were any alternatives to exercise which could assist people in maintaining the condition.

He found that a soak in the tub reduces peak blood sugar levels by 10 per cent more than an hour cycling, and increases energy expenditure levels by 80 per cent burning 126 calories per hour.

Dr Faulkner, who is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate for the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Leicester-Loughborough Diet, Lifestyle and Physical Activity Biomedical Research Unit (BRU), said: “We discovered the participants who bathed had, on average, 10 per cent lower peak glucose levels in comparison to the exercise, which was completely unexpected.

[Right Wing Assault]

imagine that hot water penetrates pores better than hot air.

When it's 98 out, it doesn't take long to warm up.

[Black Agnes]

I have t2d. It’s simple. If it makes your blood sugar go up over 100, don’t eat that. (or eat way way way less of that!)

[Mr Rogers]

Ride a horse.

You have high mobility to see the country. Sometimes too much mobility, if they hit a cactus.

You can bond with your 15 year old daughter.

You work up a relaxing sweat.Or not so relaxed, when your horse encounters the aforementioned cactus!

You raise heart rate. Nothing like a bolting horse to raise the heart rate! Or one who is spinning circles on a paved road as a car is coming and not slowing down because texting is way too important for the driver to look ahead.

You get solid leg muscles.

And as a bonus, after your horse snots all over you, you'll need a long, hot bath to get the snot, horse hair and sweat off of you - lowering your blood sugar!

[avenir]

Looks great. Would love to be in Colorado again someday.

[Marie]

When I had an awesome bathtub, I would take one or two baths a day. Haven’t been able to do that in years. Gained 80 pounds and now I’m a borderline diabetic.

There could be something here.

(I keep telling hubs to get me a hot tub)

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Not knowing much about chemistry, I’ve been wondering — does a hot bath speed up the conversion of sugar to fat?

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

Duh — I need coffee.

“... and increases energy expenditure levels by 80 per cent burning 126 calories per hour ...”

Sorry.

[Right Wing Assault]

I couldn’t find how long these people were in the hot water. Most journalists are bad at thinking what questions people might ask. Or maybe it’s there and I’m a poor reader.

In winter, I sometimes take baths that are hotter than 104 F. They are hard to take for long. It is tiring.

[Arthur Wildfire! March]

They used to say that steam baths help you lose weight, but the ultimate conclusion was that it was just temporary — weight rebounds quickly. Hot baths are hardly different, so comparison with steam bath studies might shed some light.

Sweating also helps people lose weight. But they concluded that most of it was due to dehydration.