Trying to avoid diabetes? Take a hike.

No, really.

A new study from researchers at Gladstone Institutes explains why folks living at a high altitude tend to develop diabetes much less often than those who live at sea level.

As oxygen levels drop, your red blood cells tap into a different kind of metabolism, relying on the glucose in your blood to get by. They become “sugar sponges.”

Not only does this help your body adapt to the low oxygen at high altitudes — it also lowers your blood sugar levels. Researchers say this phenomenon sheds light on the untapped role of red blood cells in how the body breaks down sugar.

Initially, researchers noticed that mice in low-oxygen conditions were able to clear sugar from their bloodstream after their meals faster than their counterparts, but found no sign of the sugar being used in their organs.

They found that mice in these conditions produced more red blood cells, and that these cells acted as a sink for the sugar. Each individual red blood cell also absorbed more glucose than its counterpart produced under normal levels of oxygen.

Typically, authors said, red blood cells are almost solely known for their mission of ferrying oxygen throughout the body — so this function was surprising.

Based on this mechanism, researchers were able to develop a new drug that reversed diabetes in mice, pointing toward promising new avenues that might change how we think about diabetes treatment.

So don’t go setting off on an expedition to Mount Everest just yet. A more manageable means of accessing high-altitude benefits just might be in the works.