(HealthDay News) - Exercise typically will lower blood sugar, since insulin is more effective during exercise. But in people with diabetes, too much of a reduction in blood sugar can be dangerous.

The University of Michigan Health System offers these suggestions for diabetics to maintain healthy blood sugar levels when exercising:

  • Check your blood sugar before and after exercise -- and during if you can -- and record your results.
  • If you are going to exercise strenuously, make sure you eat a meal first.
  • Keep snacks -- especially some with sugar -- on hand when you exercise.
  • Talk to your doctor about possibly adjusting your insulin dose for exercise.
  • Don't inject insulin into a part of the body that will be strenuously used during exercise, as it will absorb more quickly. For example, if you will run, inject your abdomen instead of your leg.