Muscle Loss and Type 2 Diabetes

If you live with type 2 diabetes, you might want to worry about your muscles.

Your muscles play an important role in your metabolism. Muscles are the largest organ in the body, removing more sugar from the bloodstream than the rest of the organ. Muscle health has a major impact on the development and progression of diabetes.

Unfortunately, many people with type 2 diabetes experience muscle atrophy (loss) and share risk factors with the diabetes itself. Muscle loss is associated with many concerns, including insulin resistance, heart health problems, poor quality of life, and an increased overall risk of death.

“Muscle mass can have any impact, from mobility and energy to immune system and organ function,” says Dr. Riccal Druda, a microbiologist and researcher at Abbott. “The good news is that our muscles are resilient. Aging adults can take small steps to improve muscle health through a balanced, nutritious diet and exercise.”

Why is muscle tissue so important in diabetes?

Muscles improve your body to keep it light. Especially if you live with diabetes. Muscle tissue throughout the body plays an important role in the use of body glucose and overall insensitivity.

When you eat, your body breaks down and converts food energy, especially carbohydrates, into glucose. Some of it will be used immediately. For example, the brain needs a constant supply of glucose to function. But if you don’t need it all right away, your body can store the extra glucose in multiple ways:

• Glucose is stored in muscle tissue and ready to burn fuel in the muscles when needed during exercise.
• If the muscles do not need more glucose, the remaining glucose is stored as body fat.

The more you exercise, the more glucose is used from the foods your muscles eat. When you eat again, more energy will replenish your muscle glucose storage, and less glucose will be stored as fat.

Muscle loss and insulin resistance: a vicious cycle

Insulin resistance, a characteristic of type 2 diabetes, prevents muscles from intake of their natural glucose.

“In people with type 2 diabetes, when blood glucose levels rise over time, cells are resistant to insulin, so they are not taking glucose or nutrients. “Insulin resistance occurs when cells in the body do not respond properly to insulin,” recalls Ruda. “Insulin unlocks cells and allows glucose.”

If the muscles are unable to get the glucose needed for insulin resistance, this can lead to significant muscle loss. As explained in Nutrients Reviews, dynamics that Rueda helped write are a vicious cycle. Insulin resistance not only causes muscle loss, but muscle loss can also lead to more insulin resistance.

“Muscle loss can have an increased risk of falls and fractures, an increased risk of insulin resistance, or adversely affect cardiovascular health,” says Ruda.

Factors that increase the risk of muscle loss

Ruda increases the risk of muscle loss include:

• Insulin resistance
• Long-term hyperglycemia levels
• year
• A diet that lacks high quality nutrients, whole foods, etc.
• A large amount of food processed food
• Limited physical activity and sedentary lifestyle
• Acute or chronic disease

These are roughly the same factors that characterize the progression of type 2 diabetes. The overlap between T2D and the risk of muscle loss is clear.

“People with type 2 diabetes have additional factors that increase the risk of muscle loss,” adds Ruda. “For example, older people with type 2 diabetes often have more protein-like nutritional needs than individuals without conditions. This can make meeting nutritional needs even more difficult and worsen muscle loss.”

How to prevent muscle loss for people with type 2 diabetes

It may be possible to limit muscle loss with healthy lifestyle habits.

Regular exercise is a must

This is not new advice, but you may need to listen again. Moves daily to prevent muscle loss and increase insulin sensitivity.

You don’t need to start a new bodybuilding training! Easy exercises are better than anything, and even mild types of exercises like walking and yoga can make a huge difference. Regular exercise can dramatically affect your body’s insulin sensitivity. This means it’s easier to manage your blood sugar levels.

Eat your protein

Protein is essential for building and storing muscle.

Rueda says older people with type 2 diabetes probably need extra protein in their diet. “The protein recommendation for most adults is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, but people with chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes may need 20% more protein to preserve their muscles.”

Focus on healthy, lean protein sources, including:

• Chicken or turkey
• Low-fat dairy products (cottage cheese, yogurt)
• fish
• seital
• Tempe
• Tofu
• Nuts and seeds
• beans

Prioritize the right nutrients

Regular exercise, eating more whole foods and taking more lean protein is probably the most important way to protect muscle mass, but some specific nutrients may also help.

“Vitamin D, hydroxymethylbutylic acid (HMB), omega-3 fatty acids, and some specific amino acids can also promote muscle health and prevent muscle breakdown,” says Ruda.

“HMB is naturally produced in small quantities in the body,” says Ruda. “It is produced when your body breaks down the amino acid leucine found in proteins. … HMB supplementation has been shown to help increase muscle mass and strength, and to reduce muscle disruption.”

Abbott’s study determined that lower levels of HMB are a general feature of people with T2D and general frailty.

“This underscores the importance of replenishing muscle-building components such as HMB in older adults with type 2 diabetes,” emphasizes Ruda. “HMB can be found in small quantities of foods such as avocados, grapefruits, and catfish, but it’s difficult to get enough HMB from just the food source. That’s why it’s important to look for dietary supplements that contain HMB.”

Ruda says oral sources of vitamin D, omega fatty acids and protein are all ideal for those with T2D who are striving to prevent muscle loss.

Take home

• Muscle tissue is really important for people with type 2 diabetes. Muscle plays an important role in overall health, strength, energy and blood glucose metabolism.
• Type 2 diabetes often causes muscle loss, which initiates a vicious cycle, leading to a decline in diabetes progression and long-term outcomes.
• The right nutrients, exercise and a healthy diet can help limit muscle loss.