Unique Way To Fight Diabetes

Researchers have found that a certain type of muscle, long believed to be harmful, helps the bodycontrol blood sugar. And you can build more of this muscle to protect yourself against diabetes.

The type of muscle investigated by researchers at the University of Michigan is “white” muscle. White muscle increases when you lift weights, sprint or do other exercises that require short, explosive bursts of energy.

Just as chicken and turkey have white and dark meat, you possess muscle tissue that is white, red and a mixture of the two. Red muscle derives its hue from mitochondria (energy- producing structures). While the red muscle predominates in people who do long, extended-endurance exercise, like long-distance running, the white muscle is the main muscle of weight lifters and sprinters.

The lab research at the University of Michigan shows that increases in white muscle are an adaptive response by the body that help keepblood sugar from getting too high.

“(Our study) results are a bit of a surprise to many people,” says researcher Jiandie Lin. “It really points to the complexity in thinking about muscle metabolism and diabetes.”

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