When you hear about type 2 diabetes there are usually two main explanations given for the problem.

• Either your body does not make enough insulin, or
• Your body has trouble using insulin, i.e. Insulin resistance.

In many cases, both these situations are at play. These are the root cause of diabetes - lack of insulin or insulin resistance.

Whichever scenario is at play in the life of a Type 2 diabetic, the bottom line is still the same: glucose is not getting to the cells for energy and cellular repair functions. The result is, the cells starve and eventually die.

This manifests itself as complications - nerve damage, organ failure, and so on. But, that's only half the story...

Why'd they stop the mail man?

Why would insulin not be able to get the glucose into the cells (in the case of insulin resistance syndrome)? This is similar to asking, "Why have they stopped the mail man from delivering the mail at mail box?" Wait, I'll tell you...

Research at the University of Kentucky has shown that dietary and body fats are the main culprits in adult onset (Type 2) diabetes. How does this happen?

Imagine each cell having, what is called, insulin receptor sites. The insulin molecule has two hands. One hand is used to grab a molecule of glucose, the other holds on to the receptor site on a cell.

When the receptor cites are clogged with fat molecules, insulin action is "restricted" or resisted, hence the term insulin resistance. What can the starving diabetic do?

How to get the mail delivered

The good news is that within seven hours after an aerobic exercise session the cells start putting on new receptor sites.

That's why exercise is so effective in regulating blood sugar. It opens doors, and relieves the starvation!

I have experienced this personally. This is fact. Have you wondered why we are encouraged to exercise regularly both as prevention and as treatment of diabetes?

Exercise also tells the body that it's in need of more energy for the activity at hand. This is stimulation for the body to create more muscle, i.e. increased fat burning capacity and create more cells with more receptor sites to use up the glucose in the blood.

Diabetes is starvation at the cell level but we can jump-start those cells so they start responding again. Regular (daily) exercise is the perfect way to do that.

If you or someone you know have type 2 diabetes, you (or they) are starving. But this does not have to continue. Do like I do. Walk for 30 to 60 minutes every morning and get an early night's sleep.

I am not a doctor, but I have diabetes. As I always say, he who studies it may know very much about it, but he who has it and knows how to prevent it from controlling his life knows what it really is.