Contributed by: Healthians Team
It is important to wrestle fact from myth in order to ensure that you are living the healthiest lifestyle. There are so many misconceptions about type 1 and type 2 Diabetes. These misrepresentations can be misleading and contribute to an undeserved stigma surrounding the disease.
Read on to bring clarity to the myths surrounding diabetes.
Myth # 1 – Diabetes is caused by Consuming Too Much Sweet Food
Fact:
This seems to be a reasonable assumption. Because diabetes causes high blood sugar levels, it’s a prevalent belief that sugar consumption triggers the condition. However, the idea that eating sugar causes diabetes is inaccurate Diabetes is a long-term condition characterized by high means higher-than-normal blood glucose values caused by the body’s failure to produce or respond to insulin effectively. While it’s true that eating a lot of added sugar raises your risk of diabetes, sugar consumption is only one part of the equation. This suggests that what drives the diabetes epidemic other than sugar is a variety of other factors, which include your general diet, lifestyle, and heredity. That said, it is important to remember that although sweet foods do not cause diabetes, They should be taken in addition to a healthful plant-based eating pattern, not instead of it.
Myth # 2 – Diabetes isn’t a big deal
Fact:
India is home to one in every six diabetics worldwide. With an estimated 77 million diabetics, the country is often called the ‘diabetes capital’ of the world. India ranks second among the top ten countries for persons living with diabetes. Diabetes causes approximately 4 million deaths each year. These grave statistics prove that diabetes is a very serious problem and can lead to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves, if not managed well. If you or a loved one suffers from this condition, please take it seriously.
Myth # 3 – You can find out if you have diabetes by your symptoms
Fact:
Not necessarily true. People with type 2 diabetes often have few or no symptoms when it first develops. In fact, they may not have symptoms for many years, due to which Type 2 diabetes may often go undetected for up to ten years. By the time they are diagnosed around half of the people already show signs of complications.
Myth # 4 – Diabetics should avoid physical exercise as it increases chances of experiencing low blood sugar
Fact:
Don’t think that just because you have diabetes means you can’t exercise! On the contrary, exercise offers surprising benefits for diabetes management. Regular exercise has been proven to stimulate insulin function and help lower your A1C level, a test that helps tell how well your diabetes is controlled. In fact, experts recommend that children — even those with type 1 diabetes —engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each day.
Myth # 5 – Women with diabetes shouldn’t consider pregnancy
Fact:
Women who are healthy and manage their diabetes well have a good chance of a normal pregnancy and birth. But it necessitates extra caution.
Myth # 6 – You can stop taking diabetes medication once your blood sugar is under control
Fact:
Maybe — at least for a while — if your blood sugar numbers are under control for several months at a lower dose and you’re committed to a healthy lifestyle. But diabetes is a progressive disease — meaning even well-controlled diabetes progresses over time — so you may have to adjust your treatment plan more than once. It is recommended that you speak to your doctor before stopping your medicines.
Myth # 7 – Diabetes is contagious
Fact:
No, it’s not. It’s impossible to get diabetes from another person. Diabetes is a non-communicable disease, which means it can’t be spread through sneezing, touching, blood, or any other person-to-person contact.
