Myths about diabetes

Despite the abundance of information regarding this dangerous chronic disease, diabetes is surrounded by a variety of myths, conjectures and misconceptions spread by armchair experts and nutritionists. In order for a person to learn a lot of unexpected, unverified and unreliable things about diabetes, the Internet is enough with its enchanting abundance of “miraculous remedies” and “unique diets” that allow you to forget about the insidious disease in a couple of weeks. We offer you to learn more about them, and at the same time make sure that your ideas about this disease correspond to the point of view of official medicine.

Diabetes is caused by sweets

This statement is very common. Is it true that if you eat a lot of sweets, you will certainly have diabetes? This is not true, or rather, not the whole truth. Type 2 diabetes occurs under the influence of many factors, including overweight and obesity. However, if your sweet tooth is not the cause of your excess weight, and there is no family history of diabetes, there is no direct threat to you either.

However, it should not be forgotten that the number of people diagnosed with diabetes is constantly growing. To ensure effective prevention of the disease, it is important to instill in the child the habit of proper nutrition from an early age and control the amount of sweets, fats and fast food. It is equally important to devote enough time to physical activity.

Today, there are many sweeteners and sweeteners that are an alternative to sugar in diabetes.

Diabetics cannot avoid obesity

This is also not a completely correct logical construction, in which cause and effect are reversed. Type II diabetics, in whom the cells of the body lose sensitivity to insulin, although the pancreas can produce it even in excess, are indeed often characterized by being overweight. However, usually excess weight appears first, and diabetes develops already as a consequence of this condition.

In type I diabetics, the pancreas does not secrete insulin, which is necessary for glucose uptake by cells. This means that carbohydrates are practically not absorbed. In this case, weight loss is more likely.

Honey is safe and does not increase blood sugar in diabetics

In fact, this is an absolute fallacy. Honey and diabetes are bad allies. Honey contains a huge amount of monosaccharides – glucose and fructose, which pose the greatest danger to diabetics. It is these simple carbohydrates that enter the bloodstream the fastest.

However, modern nutrition systems for diabetes are very gentle. They recommend only significantly limiting sweets in diabetes, but not excluding it from the diet. Sometimes you can eat a slice of cake, a couple of wedges of chocolate, or some of your favorite fruit. But this can be done under the condition of constant monitoring of sugar and following the doctor’s recommendations.

Fructose is a sweetener

No, this is one of the varieties of simple carbohydrates. Moreover, fructose in diabetes is even more dangerous than regular sugar, increasing the resistance of cells to insulin. That is why diabetics are contraindicated in sweet fruits and juices, which owe their sweet taste to fructose. To reduce the intake of “fast” carbohydrates will help their combination in one dish with complex carbohydrates.

We point out that the uncontrolled consumption of sweets is also unsafe, since the components of diabetic desserts and confectionery have a calorie content. This means that their use must be controlled.

For diabetics, it is better not to eat after 6 p.m.

This statement is also one of the most dangerous misconceptions. The liver of a diabetic has lower reserves of glucose, which are actively consumed during fasting. If the last meal took place about six hours before bedtime, the sugar level will drop to a critical level at night. This practice is the path to severe liver disease.

Early prescription of hypoglycemic therapy is a way to aggravate the disease

Above, we briefly listed the main, most dangerous consequences of uncontrolled diabetes. Timely selected therapy is the key to the effectiveness of treatment and good health. By postponing a visit to the doctor, such a patient risks getting a whole bunch of concomitant diseases.

On the contrary, it is very important to undergo a timely preventive examination of the body. The healthcare system in our country has created special programs for diabetics, allowing them to receive the necessary medical care and medicines free of charge or with a small additional payment.

Treatment of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus is a challenge for a qualified endocrinologist and many other specialists. And timely diagnosis and adherence to the recommendations of a specialist will help maintain health and a positive attitude for many years.

If a diagnosis of “diabetes mellitus” is made, hospitalization is required every year for “scheduled treatment”.

Diabetes is not a reason to go to the hospital. Correction of hypoglycemic therapy, transfer to insulin therapy can be quite successfully carried out by a doctor on an outpatient basis. There are indications for hospitalization – this is a long-term decompensation of metabolic processes, newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus with a high level of blood glucose, the appearance of acetone in the urine, the development of acute complications, the treatment of severe late complications, the difficulty in choosing hypoglycemic therapy.

But still, it will be a short episode in your life, and then you will be left alone with your disease and you will not have an endocrinologist in your everyday life. Diabetes cannot be treated “once a year”, you need to learn how to manage it. This is a disease in which you should change your lifestyle, and this is harder than taking pills.