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How Blood Sugar Balance Builds Stronger Muscles and Bones
Have you ever thought about how your blood sugar affects your bone strength? In this powerful conversation with Ben Tzeel, a registered dietitian, certified diabetes care specialist, and strength coach living with type 1 diabetes, I discovered just how deeply connected our metabolism, muscles, and bones truly are.
With nearly half of Americans facing blood sugar dysregulation, this episode sheds light on how strength training and blood sugar management can transform your energy, muscle mass, and bone density — especially for women in menopause or anyone managing diabetes or prediabetes.
🧠 The Overlooked Connection: Diabetes and Bone Health
Most conversations about diabetes focus on blood sugar levels — not bones. But as Ben explains, inflammation and insulin resistance affect much more than energy. Elevated insulin and glucose over time can trigger inflammation that contributes to bone breakdown and osteoporosis.
Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes affect the way the body uses insulin — either by not producing it at all or by becoming resistant to it. This imbalance impacts everything from your muscles’ ability to absorb glucose for energy to your bones’ ability to rebuild.
When we’re under chronic stress, cortisol — a bone-dissolving hormone — increases blood sugar and inflammation. That’s why managing stress, nutrition, and exercise are all critical components of bone health.
💪 Why Muscle Mass Is Your Secret Weapon for Stronger Bones
Ben says it best: “When you build muscle, you’re also strengthening bone.” Your muscles and bones communicate constantly. The stronger your lean muscle tissue, the more it signals your bones to grow denser and stronger.
Strength training increases insulin sensitivity for up to 72 hours, helping your body use glucose efficiently while reducing inflammation. You don’t need to lift extremely heavy weights — consistency and time under tension matter more.
Ben recommends starting with manageable loads and focusing on slow, controlled movements (like a 3-second lift and 3-second lower). This kind of mechanical tension strengthens both muscles and bones — even with lighter weights.
🩻 Movement, Mobility, and the “Use It or Lose It” Rule
Beyond strength, movement is medicine. Our conversation explored how people with diabetes or blood sugar issues can develop joint stiffness and limited mobility when glucose “sticks” to collagen in the joints.
The key? Keep moving daily. Small stabilizing muscles — those that keep your spine, hips, and shoulders aligned — are just as vital as the big movers. Activities like yoga, tai chi, or resistance band work build flexibility and stability, helping you stay mobile, reduce pain, and prevent fractures.
🥗 Fueling Strength and Blood Sugar Balance
Ben emphasizes that many women — especially those over 50 — simply aren’t eating enough to fuel their workouts. Under-eating leads to fatigue, poor recovery, and loss of muscle mass. His advice:
- Prioritize protein at every meal (animal or plant-based).
- Stay hydrated, as dehydration spikes blood sugar.
- Eat something substantial after workouts — including protein and a small amount of carbohydrates for energy restoration.
Even simple awareness of blood sugar patterns through a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) can reveal how your food, exercise, and stress are affecting your metabolism.
🧘♀️ Debi’s Takeaway: Train Smart, Eat Well, Stay Balanced
Strength training is one of the most powerful tools we have for longevity, bone density, and balanced blood sugar — but it has to be done intelligently. Listen to your body, rest, nourish yourself, and include mobility and flexibility work to stay strong for life.
Remember, your bones reflect your whole-body health. When your metabolism, muscles, and mindset align, your body will reward you with strength from the inside out.
🌿 Resources Mentioned
- Learn more about Ben Tzeel’s work: Your Diabetes Insider
- Connect with Ben on Instagram: @manofzeel
Podcast Subscribe Links - Reversing Osteoporosis
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Oxalates, also known as oxalic acid, are naturally occurring compounds found in many plants, vegetables, and fruits. They are part of a plant’s defense mechanism against predators and can be found in high concentrations in foods like spinach, rhubarb, beets, nuts, chocolate, tea, and certain beans.
Regarding bone health, oxalates can bind to minerals such as calcium in the gut, forming calcium oxalate. This compound is not easily absorbed by the body, meaning the calcium that could have been utilized for bone strengthening is instead excreted. This process can potentially lead to lower calcium availability for bone health, which can be particularly concerning for individuals at risk of osteoporosis or other bone-related issues.
However, for most women, dietary oxalates do not pose a significant threat to bone health, especially if their diet is balanced with enough calcium and they do not have a history of kidney stones.
Your gut is crucial for stronger bones for several reasons:
- Nutrient Absorption: The gut is where most nutrient absorption occurs. For bones to be healthy and strong, they need a variety of nutrients, particularly calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and vitamin D. A healthy gut efficiently absorbs these essential nutrients from your diet and facilitates their transportation to the bones.
- Gut Microbiome and Bone Health: Research has shown that the gut microbiome (the community of bacteria living in your intestines) can influence bone density. Certain gut bacteria help in producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which have been shown to promote bone health. SCFAs can enhance the absorption of minerals necessary for bone strength and play a role in reducing inflammation, which can negatively affect bone health.
- Hormone Regulation: The gut helps regulate hormones that are involved in bone metabolism, including insulin, thyroid hormones, and sex hormones like estrogen. For example, estrogen is vital for bone density, and gut health can influence estrogen levels through the enterohepatic circulation, where estrogens are processed in the liver and intestines.
- Reducing Inflammation: Chronic inflammation, which can stem from poor gut health, is linked to many conditions that compromise bone strength, such as osteoporosis. A healthy gut helps to reduce systemic inflammation, protecting bones from inflammatory damage.
- Immune System Modulation: The majority of the immune system is located in the gut. An imbalance in the immune system can lead to autoimmune conditions, some of which affect the bones. Maintaining gut health helps to ensure the immune system works correctly, protecting against autoimmune reactions that could impact bone health.
In essence, maintaining a healthy gut contributes significantly to stronger bones by ensuring the effective absorption of vital nutrients, regulating hormones, reducing inflammation, and supporting a healthy immune system. Therefore, a diet rich in bone-healthy nutrients, prebiotics, and probiotics, along with lifestyle factors that promote gut health, is key to maintaining strong bones.