“Diabetes Myths lead to greater stigma, hurt and most significantly misunderstanding and misdiagnosed’.

Let’s Uncover Some Myths: –

Eating Sweets and Sugar Causes Diabetes – Consuming sugar is not a direct risk factor for type 2 diabetes, although it can have indirect effects, such as weight gain, that make the condition more likely to develop. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include: being overweight or having a large waist circumference.

Type 2 diabetes only develops late in life – Type 2 diabetes used to be known as adult-onset diabetes, but both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can begin during childhood and adulthood. Type 2 is more common in older adults, but the increase in the number of children with obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people.

People with diabetes cannot live a normal life– Not true. Although it may take a little planning and modification with diet and medicines, you should be able to do everything you did before you begin on treatment.

I am thin so I cannot have diabetes in my life, it only occurs in Obese people – You don’t have to be overweight or obese to get type 2 diabetes. In fact, you can have high blood sugar even if you look thin. Around 10% to 15% of people with type 2 diabetes are at a healthy weight. It’s called lean diabetes. It may be a kind of “hybrid” of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. That means you may not make enough insulin or respond to it very well.

No need to panic; I only have borderline diabetes. –

The term “prediabetes” refers to those whose blood sugar levels are above normal but outside the range for diabetes. You are at a high risk of acquiring diabetes within the next ten years if you have prediabetes. If you lose weight and work out for 150 minutes a week, you may be able to get your blood sugar levels down to normal. Discuss your diabetes risk with your healthcare practitioner, as well as any steps you might take to reduce it.

I can stop taking diabetes medicines once my blood sugar is under control. –

Some people with type 2 diabetes, are able to control their blood sugar without medicine by losing weight, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular exercise. But diabetes is a progressive disease, and over time, even if you are doing all you can to stay healthy, you may need medicine to keep your blood sugar within your target range.

 My blood sugar levels are high, but I don’t have any signs of diabetes.

People without diabetes can experience temporary high blood sugar levels due to a variety of situations (such as sickness, stress, or drugs like steroids). High blood sugar levels, however, are never typical. A doctor should screen for diabetes in people who have blood sugar levels that are higher than usual or who have sugar in their urine.

Eating excess sugar and obesity are responsible for type 1 diabetes – Excessive sugar intake and obesity have been shown to have no role in the development of type 1 diabetes. In fact, type 1 diabetes is caused when the body’s defense system (immune system) destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. Insulin is a hormone that controls the blood sugar level. The exact reason why the immune system behaves in this manner is still not known; however, scientists believe that both genetic and environmental factors may have a possible involvement in causing type 1 diabetes.

 

Kids can outgrow diabetes – Kids do not outgrow diabetes. In type 1 diabetes, the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin are destroyed. Once they’re destroyed, they will never make insulin again. Kids with type 1 diabetes will always need to take insulin (until a cure is found). Although kids with type 2 diabetes may see an improvement in their blood sugar levels after puberty or with lifestyle adjustments, they will probably always have a tendency toward having high blood sugar levels, especially if they are physically inactive or gain too much weight.

Because I don’t have any family history of diabetes, I cannot have diabetes ever in my life– Even if no one in the family has diabetes, you can still get it. Genes don’t determine for sure, whether you’ll get diabetes or not; they only influence the likelihood or the susceptibility to the disease. Although not everyone with type 2 diabetes is overweight, obesity and an inactive lifestyle are two of the most common causes of type 2 diabetes.

I am on insulin injections so I can eat whatever I want – Even if you are taking insulin you still need to control your food intake, like anyone else without diabetes. Eating extra calories regularly can lead to weight gain in all people, with or without diabetes.

My doctor has started Insulin; means I will die soon – You may have this fear if you have witnessed complications or death of your family members or friends with diabetes. Insulin is not the last resort but in fact, can delay or even prevent diabetes complications if started early.

Once insulin is started as treatment, I will be addicted to it whole my life– Insulin is a natural substance needed by your body and you just cannot get addicted to it. It is used as a normal treatment as rest diabetic medications are prescribed.

Insulin Injections are extremely painful – It is a fact that insulin is the good way to lower your blood glucose levels. And no, it doesn’t hurt much. You would in fact be surprised with how little the injection actually hurts. Many even find it less painful than a finger stick. There are injector pens on the market that allow you to dial the dose of insulin, snap on a tiny needle, and inject painlessly.

I am on insulin because I have failed to control my diabetes– Insulin therapy is not your fault and it definitely does not mean that you aren’t trying enough to control your blood glucose. Type 2 diabetes progresses over time and no matter what you do and what medicines you take to manage it; your pancreas gives up on keeping up with your body’s need for insulin. This is when insulin is needed to treat diabetes.

If I am Sick, I need to stop taking Insulin – This is a big myth! During illness, blood glucose levels tend to rise. Insulin therapy in such cases may in fact need to be increased when you are sick. It is good to talk to your doctor about this.

Insulin can cause many complications or even death – When you see that people around you die because of the complications of diabetes, you might be forced to believe that insulin causes complications or death. However, you might be missing an important point that insulin might have delayed or even prevented these complications if those people had been started on it earlier.

 

Women with diabetes, can be risky to the baby– With good control of sugars, there is no difference between the pregnancy survival rate for women with and without diabetes. The most important aspect of gestational diabetes is to achieve good blood sugar control throughout the pregnancy. However, poor sugar control can harm you and your baby.

My Unborn baby will get diabetes from Me – Gestational diabetes is not a contagious disease so it cannot be transmitted to your unborn baby, but your baby has increased risk if obesity and diabetes in late adolescence and early childhood.

A pregnant woman will have to take insulin if she is diagnosed with gestational diabetes– Many pregnant women with gestational diabetes successfully manage to lower and stabilize their blood sugar levels with diet and exercise alone under the supervision of their doctor. However, if the blood sugar levels continue to be on the higher side, the doctor may start with insulin.

Diabetic people can never eat desserts again– Diabetes nutrition focuses on healthy foods. But you can eat sweets once in a while without feeling guilty or significantly interfering with your blood sugar control. The key to diabetes nutrition is moderation.

I can’t eat fruits, if I have diabetes – The concern has been that because fruits contain sugar, it makes your blood glucose go up. In fact, most fruits have low to medium glycaemic index, so they do not lead to a sharp rise in your blood glucose levels compared to other carbohydrate-containing foods like white or wholemeal bread but portion size is very important.

Fruit Juices are healthier options in diet for diabetic patient– Any Fruit has sugar in form of Fructose. If we talk about portion size of food, for example to make a glass of juice we squeeze at-least medium 2-3 oranges. So overloading of fructose is happening at one time. Also highly processed juices may not contain any fibre so it is easily absorbed in the body hence will raise blood sugar levels. So as a general rule, eating whole fruit is healthier than drinking fruit juice or fruit smoothies.

I can have any amount of chapatti or roti as I want because wheat is good for diabetes– Chapati made from whole wheat flour is a good choice for diabetic individuals. It is a better choice over Maida Chapati and is better compared to rice. But there is always a limit to something good. Consult dietician how much calories you should take for your weight and blood sugar levels management.

I was told I have diabetes, so now I’ll have to eat a special diet. –  People with diabetes eat the same foods that everyone eats. In fact, The American Diabetes Association no longer recommends specific amounts of carbohydrate, fat, or protein to eat. But they do suggest that people with diabetes get their carbohydrates from vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and legumes. Avoid foods that are high in fat, sodium, and sugar. These recommendations are similar to what everyone should be eating.

 

I skip chapatti and rice, I only take fruits and salad because they are good for diabetes– This is surely not a good way to control your blood glucose levels as you cannot be on fruits and salad for your whole life. Macro nutrients like carbohydrates, proteins and fat is important for your body metabolism otherwise you will be become nutrient deficient person which itself will develops numerous health problems. So eat healthy and balanced diet.

Keeping Fast improves sugar levels because I won’t eat anything whole day– If you are on any anti-diabetic medicines, keeping fast will cause low blood glucose levels further cause extreme weakness and fatigue. But this will surely not control your blood glucose levels. When you “break” your fast by eating, you may also be more likely to develop too-high blood sugar levels. This only happens if you eat too many carbohydrates. If fasting prompts you to overeat carbohydrate-rich foods, it may not be the right plan for you.

People with diabetes cannot play sports or do any athletic activities– Having diabetes needn’t be a barrier to actively enjoying sports and exercise. Sport, or exercise of some form, is recommended for all people with diabetes because it brings a range of health benefits such as improved sensitivity to insulin, improved. Whether you take part in sport for competitive reasons, or purely for fun, it is a great way to stay healthy.

 

I will lose weight if I do rigorous exercise, I don’t need to follow any diet. – Rigorous exercise will give you some results of weight loss for short term but not following balanced diet you will make your body malnourished. Exercise will lead to effective weight loss only if you combined it with low calorie diet balanced diet. Doing regular exercise has its own benefits like improving one’s metabolism and cardiovascular fitness.