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With planning, a little workout goes a long way toward keeping this condition in check. For diabetics, exercise is more than just a way to ease stress and get fit: It's a life saver.

Exercise benefits people with both type I and type II diabetes because it usually lowers blood sugar, and in many cases helps insulin work better.

Exercise helps people with type II diabetes control their weight, which can be vital to controlling their diabetes. People with diabetes have too much glucose (a type of sugar cells use for energy) in their bloodstreams because of a lack of insulin, a hormone that helps the cells absorb the glucose. People with type I diabetes produce less than adequate insulin and must have regular insulin shots to survive. People with type II diabetes either produce too little insulin, or their cells are resistant to the insulin produced.

All diabetics should consult their doctor before starting an exercise program. Because exercise lowers blood sugar, people with type I diabetes must coordinate their exercise carefully with their meals and insulin shots in order to keep their blood-sugar levels stable.

"If you take insulin, you should have something with carbohydrates on standby and you should probably also eat some carbs before you work out-especially if you're just starting on an exercise program," says Brian Meltzer, M.D., a New York City physician board-certified in internal medicine.

Exercise can also cause hypoglycemia, or dangerously low blood sugar, in people with diabetes who exercise too hard or too long. That doesn't mean diabetics can't compete in endurance events such as marathons. "At the New York City marathon, there are stations every few miles where people with diabetes can check their glucose levels and get something to eat if they need it," Meltzer says.

People with type II diabetes who use insulin or pills should also keep an eye on their blood-sugar levels. More importantly, regular exercise along with a healthy diet can help type II diabetics lose weight, which improves insulin use. Almost 90 percent of people with type II diabetes are overweight, according to the American Diabetes Association. For many people, diet and exercise are enough to keep type II diabetes in check.