Type 2 diabetes occurs when muscle function is not optimal.

Under normal conditions, muscle plays a key role in regulating the blood concentration of glucose, as well as that of amino acids. Glucose is commonly called blood sugar. When all is functioning properly, the brain relies entirely on glucose from the blood for energy. A drop in blood glucose concentration can cause loss of consciousness and even death. In contrast, an increase in glucose concentration in the blood is responsible for many of the adverse effects of diabetes.

To understand how healthy muscle can help keep us diabetes free, we must first examine how glucose is processed in the body. All dietary carbohydrates are ultimately converted to glucose in order to be metabolized in the body. After you eat carbohydrates, your blood glucose level increases. The magnitude of this increase is moderated by the release of the hormone insulin. Insulin sets in motion the uptake of glucose by various tissues, most prominently muscle. Once in the muscle cell, glucose may either be converted to a chemical form of energy or stored as glycogen for later use during exercise when energy requirements are elevated in order to fuel the contraction of muscle.

Now, that’s all assuming your body is responding to insulin properly. If your body’s cells become resistant to the effects of insulin, then your pancreas pumps out more insulin to try to compensate. Eventually the pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin to satisfy the body’s needs, and blood sugar increases. This condition is termed insulin resistance, and it can lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease if not managed. When you have diabetes, insulin no longer stimulates the clearance of glucose from the blood.

Muscle not only helps blunt the magnitude of increases in blood glucose after meals, but also helps prevent decreases in blood glucose levels between meals that could impair brain function. You see, some of the amino acids released from muscle in the post-absorptive state (between meals) become precursors for the production of glucose in the absence of dietary carbohydrate. Thus, healthy muscle helps regulate the concentration of glucose in the blood. This is imperative for the prevention of diabetes, as well as health problems caused by hypoglycemia (low blood glucose levels).