Your Best Anti-IRS Strategies Part 2

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> As few as 15 to 20 minutes of walking a day can significantly lower

> insulin levels. Prevention recommends 30 minutes of exercise 6 or 7 days

> a week; if you're trying to lose weight, up it to an hour a day, 6 or 7

> days a week. Swimming, biking, jogging, or aerobics all count toward your

> goal.

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> Add a weight workout. Brief strength-training sessions a few times a week

> also make muscle cells more sensitive to insulin, in part by increasing

> the number of specialized receptors on the cell surface; these receptors

> carry blood sugar into cells.

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> You need about 30 minutes two or three times a week--at home with

> resistance bands or hand weights, or in your local gym.

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> 3. Enjoy a Daily Tranquility Break

> Research finds that high stress--due to marital problems, death of a

> loved one, job demands, or caring for an ill relative--all raise IRS

> risk. Cutting stress with a relaxation technique such as meditation has

> been shown to improve insulin sensitivity.

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> Take a course at your local hospital, YMCA, or gym; then meditate daily

> for 10 to 20 minutes. Or try a creative form of relaxation: Shower by

> candlelight, stargaze with your kids, spend 5 minutes writing down

> everything for which you feel thankful, take a 20-minute nap on Saturday

> afternoon (and don't feel guilty!), go on a picnic, spend an evening

> doing volunteer work, or simply run through the lawn sprinkler on a hot

> day.

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> Get enough sleep each night to feel refreshed. There's early evidence

> linking a lack of shut-eye with insulin resistance problems.

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