It seems that contemporary recommendations for diabetes management had put exercise, weight loss, diet and medications on equal footing.
However, according to a research paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in May 2011, exercise may be more important than many doctor's give it credit for.
In this research review, the scientists examined studies that looked into the effect of exercise on the HbA1c level, an indicator of how well blood sugars are managed over a 3 month period.
They found exercise almost universally cut down on this all important indicator of diabetic health.
Working out for 150 minutes per week or more, seemed to have the most benefit.
However, even just going for a 15 minute walk everyday was enough to dramatically drop the HbA1c level.
What's interesting about this research is it found exercise didn't work very well on its own.
Only when combined with a healthy diabetic diet did exercise's benefits become unlocked.
While exercise is important, it needs to be combined with eating right to maximize its benefits.
While it may seem daunting to have to overhaul diet and physical activity together, this research shows even small changes can make a massive difference in your health and blood sugar levels.
The study researchers discovered the benefits of exercise began at 100 minutes per week...
less than 15 minutes of activity per day.
Other studies have found that adding more vegetables or beans to a diabetic diet is enough to help with weight loss and blood sugar levels...
even without making any other tweaks or changes to your life.
If you're so busy that carving out 15 minutes for exercise seems impossible, here are some tips to help you make time for this potentially life saving activity: Make Lunch Break a Walk Break: Even day-trading stock brokers take a few minutes for lunch every day.
No matter what your career of choice happens to be, you probably can find a few minutes here or there to take the stairs or walk around the block.
Studies show that you, (thankfully), don't have to dedicate hours upon hours of consecutive time to reap rewards from exercise.
For example, breaking up your 45 minute treadmill session into 3 short, 15-minute bouts will benefit your body just the same.
Strength Train During Down Times: Strength training is fantastic because it boosts insulin sensitivity and stimulates your metabolism.
Even better, you can strength train just about anywhere.
Consider hitting the weights while watching the evening news or during commercial breaks.
As you can see, exercise doesn't have to consume your entire life.
Make some time for it (and eat healthy), and you'll be combating Type 2 diabetes more effectively than any drug could hope to do.