Understanding your diabetes medication – Metform

Diabetes-Tablet-Metformin

As you perhaps know already, Carbs (rice, chapati, potato, sugar, sweets etc) is converted in our body into glucose and is released into the blood. This glucose has to go to body cells, muscles, liver, etc, where they are used up for various requirements, as an energy source. Insulin (secreted by the Pancreas) is the key that opens these body cells so that the blood glucose can enter them.

However, for a person suffering from type -2 diabetes, Insulin (key) is unable to open up the cell walls (insulin receptors known as tyrosine kinase), and hence the glucose levels stay elevated in the blood. Or in other words – the body is insulin resistant (OR Insulin sensitivity is low). The most common medication for Type 2 diabetes is – Metformin. This tablet comes in various brand names such as Glycomet, Glyciphage, Glucophage

What does the Metformin tablet do?

Metformin tablet keeps a check on the blood glucose levels by doing three things –

1) Makes body cells more sensitive to insulin (key), so that the cells open up to allow glucose into it, thereby reducing the glucose level in the blood.
2) Reduces the absorption of sugar in the intestine and thereby reducing glucose that gets into the bloodstream
3) Reduces the production of glucose by the Liver – Apart from the food, glucose is also produced by the Liver. Metformin reduces the amount of glucose produced by the liver

Problems with Metformin

Metformin medication may be necessary in cases where the blood sugar levels are high and need to be controlled before it affects other organs. Metformin medication, however, is a temporary solution to reduce the insulin resistance of the body. If you do, only this kind of temporary patch up every single day with no lifestyle change, your body turns more and more insulin resistant. This is the reason most of the diabetes patients who resort to only medication with no lifestyle change (nutrition + exercise), ends up increasing the Metformin dosage gradually.

Long term solution

Improving your body’s sensitivity to insulin key is the ultimate solution to manage diabetes in the right manner. Diabetes is a lifestyle disease and to manage it, the lifestyle itself has to change. A calorie planned nutrition to reduce the body fat percentage, along with a proper mix of resistance training and cardiovascular activity to improve the muscle / lean mass will greatly improve the metabolic parameters and also the insulin sensitivity of the body.

Reach us to know how to manage diabetes (type 2) with lifestyle change through an online fitness program – Click here

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