#598: How Do Exercise & Diet Interact to Improve Glycaemic Control? – Jenna Gillen, PhD

This episode examines how exercise and nutrition interact to influence glycaemic control, with particular focus on the postprandial period (i.e., the hours after eating) and on "time-efficient" exercise strategies such as low-volume interval training.

Dr. Jenna Gillen outlines the physiological basis for why muscle contraction can acutely reduce post-meal glucose excursions, why repeated sessions can accumulate into longer-term improvements in insulin sensitivity, and why the nutrition context (pre- and post-exercise feeding, carbohydrate availability, and energy balance) can meaningfully alter observed outcomes.

A key translational thread is that many clinically relevant improvements may come from small, feasible doses of activity; especially post-meal walking and brief "exercise snacks" used to interrupt sedentary time.

However, the discussion considers who these interventions matter for most (and least). Postprandial glucose rises are normal in healthy individuals, whereas reducing exaggerated excursions is most relevant for those with insulin resistance, prediabetes, or type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Dr. Jenna Gillen is an Assistant Professor of Exercise Physiology in the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education at the University of Toronto.

Timestamps

[02:42] Dr. Gillen's research focus
[04:11] Understanding glycemic control
[10:07] Fasted vs. fed state exercise
[11:10] Post-meal exercise benefits
[20:10] Low volume interval training
[26:27] Interval training and blood glucose
[31:29] Energy balance and insulin sensitivity
[36:32] Exercise and nutrition interactions
[40:11] Practical exercise recommendations
[43:56] Key ideas segment (Premium-only)

Links

Go to episode page (with links to papers)
Join the Sigma email newsletter for free
Subscribe to Sigma Nutrition Premium
Enroll in the next cohort of our Applied Nutrition Literacy course
See Sigma's recommended resources

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(642)

#619: How Much Fish Should a Healthy Diet Contain?

Most dietary guidelines recommend eating one to two servings of fish per week, often specifying that at least one serving should be oily fish. But how directly is that recommendation supported by evid...

8 Sep 1h 3min

#618: How Wellness & Optimisation Culture Can Commodify Science – Nick Tiller, PhD

Wellness and optimisation culture increasingly presents itself as "science-based". But citing studies, using technical language, or having scientific credentials does not guarantee that the underlying...

1 Sep 56min

#617: What Does Effective Athlete Support Look Like in Practice? – Gemma McGuinness

Effective athlete support requires more than delivering technically correct nutrition advice. It depends on understanding the athlete's wider environment, anticipating the pressures that disrupt good ...

25 Aug 46min

Fiber: Independent Benefits or Just a Proxy for Healthy Foods?

This episode answers one of the questions raised in the most recent Q&A episode on Sigma Nutrition Premium. The full episode includes the following questions: Fiber: Independent effect or proxy for ...

18 Aug 21min

#616: More Testing, Better Health? Harms of Overdiagnosis & Overtreatment - Austin Baraki, MD

Medical screening is often framed as an uncomplicated good: if disease is found earlier, treatment can begin earlier and outcomes should improve. This episode examines why that reasoning is incomplete...

11 Aug 1h 15min

#615: Why Processing Doesn't Determine the Healthfulness of Plant-Based Diets – Alysha Thompson, PhD

What does the evidence actually show when we look at plant-based dietary patterns through the lens of food processing? And does classifying foods as "ultra-processed" meaningfully change how we interp...

4 Aug 56min

#614: The Human Skills of Nutrition Coaching – Krista Scott-Dixon, PhD

In nutrition and health coaching, one of the central challenges is understanding how people actually change, particularly when life is complex, motivation fluctuates, and behaviour is shaped by emotio...

21 Jul 56min

#613: Supplement Safety & Medication Interactions – Giulia Guerrini, MPharm

Supplement safety is often discussed in very general terms, but in practice the risks depend heavily on the individual. A supplement that is reasonable for one person may be inappropriate for another ...

14 Jul 57min