Is Hiking ok for Diabetics & what do i need to know?

what do i need to keep an eye out for when hiking?
i was just at the Griffith Park here in Los Angeles, lots of places to hike here and beautiful, but i wanna know any tips i would need to keep in mind, before i really get into hiking this huge park, any tips or good sites, or a book?, and oh, iam a type 2…

Any exercise is good for diabetics. Just make sure you monitor your blood sugar and keep glucose on hand for lows. Also might want to consider a medical alert bracelet as well.

Hiking is great for anyone, including diabetics.

As Cody suggests, the major thing to watch out for is low blood sugars. Keep your monitor with you, bring plenty of water and plenty of fast acting carbs. A watered down sports drink will provide liquids AND carbs as you go. Don’t chug it down and definitely water it down. (I use 50-50.)

Check your BG when you start and every 30 to 60 minutes after, depending on how strenuous your hike is. Griffith Park is pretty gentle, but there are some challenging sections. A medicalert bracelet or necklace is an excellent idea in case of a fall, an injury or a severe low.

I don’t know any books specific to hiking, but “The Diabetic Athlete” by Sheri Colberg.

Good hiking,

Terry

Thanks for the info, hiking does not feel like too much excirse , cause of the great view and sounds of the park, it really makes it very enjoyable, but as a diabetic i do have to be careful, thanks for the great advice!!!

thaks for the tips!!

Hi all,

Thanks for all the really good information. I have not even thought about keeping a medical alert bracelet around. During a stroll once I had really bad lows and had the lady seeing me not recognized what was going on, I would have went down and most likely wound up being sent to the hospital in an ambulance, which would have ran up a huge unnecessary bill. Instead, she gave me packs of sugar from her purse and I was fine in just a few minutes. Well, I felt pretty bad, but I was ok. That was quite a learning experience and I have tried really hard to not allow it to happen again. Just be prepared.