A staggering number of people in the US are living with diabetes. Even so, very few people know anything at all about the disease. That’s because myths and rumors about the disease get mixed in with facts, making it especially difficult to know what is true.
Here are the top myths that are swirling around, now:
1. People with diabetes can’t eat sweets.
Because diabetes is a disease that cannot metabolize sugar (glucose) properly, there is a common misconception that people with diabetes cannot eat sugary foods. People with diabetes can eat sugary foods, and many do, but it must be accompanied by proper medication and preparation.
2. All overweight people probably have diabetes.
Many overweight people are able to process the amount of glucose they are consuming, thus avoiding diabetes. While being overweight or obese certainly increases the risk for diabetes, it is not necessarily the outcome.
In fact, many underweight people have diabetes, too. Type 1 diabetes is the result of a pancreas that does not produce efficient insulin. This is a very different cause of the disease than individuals battling obesity. Diabetes comes in many shapes and sizes.
3. Diabetes isn’t deadly.
Most people brush diabetes off as a permanent diet with little to no consequences. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. Whether it is by cardiovascular disease caused by diabetes or cognitive decline caused by diabetes, the disease is very dangerous.
Diabetes weakens and damages the blood vessels all throughout the body. As they become increasingly damaged, everything they touch also becomes damaged. Imagine that kind of degeneration.
You have likely heard at least one of these myths and may even be shocked to find that they aren’t true. It’s okay, it happens. In fact, it only further supports the argument that more diabetes education is necessary if we want to tackle this epidemic properly.
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[expand title=”References“]
KUTV. URL Link. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
Healthline. URL Link. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
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