Nearly 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every year, according to the American Diabetes Association. And, for the 30.3 million Americans who had diabetes as of 2015, there are as many substantive tips for coping with the disease as there are myths regarding the foods you should eat and the ones you should skip. To help separate fact from fiction—and prevent you from overspending on diets, shakes and supplements that claim to be the answer to controlling blood sugar—we asked Riva Greenberg, a diabetes patient/expert/advocate whose quest to “de-myth-ify” the disease was the impetus behind her book, 50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life: And the 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It, for help in dispelling the following fallacies. We also asked Elizabeth Snyder, a registered dietician and certified diabetes educator at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, to give Parade.com the scoop on common myths and misconceptions about diabetes.
Myth 1: Type 2 diabetes is not as serious at type 1.
Truth: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes are equally serious, because when poorly controlled they both can lead to the same devastating complications, which include heart attack, stroke, nerve damage, kidney failure, blindness, amputation, gastroparesis, and sexual dysfunction.
Myth 2: People who have diabetes must wear special shoes.
Truth: People who have diabetes can wear any shoe that fits properly and doesn’t put undue stress on their feet. Here are 3 simple rules-of-thumb for good food health: Special “Foot note”: Twenty-five percent of people with diabetes will develop foot problems related to their disease. Under the Medicare Therapeutic Shoe Bill, people with diabetes may be entitled to one pair of “therapeutic” shoes and three sets of custom-molded inserts per year. A note or prescription from a podiatrist or other qualified physician is required.
Myth 3: Women with diabetes shouldn’t get pregnant.
Truth: This life-altering myth, which is still inflicted on thousands of woman today, is no longer true. Thanks largely to self blood-glucose monitoring and other technologies that allow the mother-to-be to fine-tune her blood sugar so that it is as close to normal as possible–a crucial factor in a diabetic pregnancy–women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes can get pregnant, carry to term, and deliver healthy babies. The key to a healthy diabetic pregnancy is pre-pregnancy planning, with an emphasis on tight blood-sugar control before conception and throughout the pregnancy. Experts generally recommend that a woman work closely with her medical team at least three to six months before conception so that her blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and heart and vascular health are primed for a healthy pregnancy and delivery.
Myth 4: I must follow a “diabetic diet” for the rest of my life.
Truth: There is no longer any such thing as a “diabetic diet,” but there are foods that a better for diabetes. The same dietary guidelines recommended for all Americans are recommended for people with diabetes: Eat a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, complex carbohydrates, lean protein, low-fat dairy, healthful fats and fiber in appropriate portions. Nor is sugar the bugaboo it once was. Today, people with diabetes are allowed to eat “sweets” in moderation as long as the sugar content is worked into their meal plan. (Guess what’s the best “sweet” of all? Fruit! And you can have it fresh, frozen or canned-in-its-own-juices—you can even try it in one of these tasty sugar-free dessert recipes.) Despite these new dietary freedoms, many people with diabetes find it easier to follow prescriptive-type “Exchange Lists.” Do whatever it takes to keep your blood sugars under control, including healthy bedtime snacks. “The best meal plan for anyone with diabetes is one that enables you to keep your blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight within your target range, while allowing you to enjoy what you eat and not feel overly restricted,” says Riva Greenberg, who has had type 1 diabetes for more than 37 years.
Myth 5: If I go on insulin, it’s the beginning of the end.
Truth: Going on insulin is the beginning of better blood-sugar control. Many people associate going on insulin with worsening diabetes, or they believe insulin causes complications. Neither is true. Far from being “the beginning of the end,” for most people, starting insulin is the beginning of better health. They have better blood-sugar control, which translates into more energy and less fatigue, clearer vision, sleeping through the night, and possibly halting or reversing complications. People also mistakenly believe that insulin causes diabetic complications, such as blindness, kidney failure, and amputations, possibly because they’ve seen a loved one suffer such consequences shortly after beginning insulin therapy. But in these patients, complications result not from using insulin, but rather from prior years of uncontrolled blood sugars. More than 40% of patients with type 2 diabetes use insulin. Today, the scientific and medical communities, including the American Diabetes Association, recommend earlier intervention with insulin.
Myth 6: Sugar-free foods are best.
Truth: It’s easy to assume that only the sugars in our food and beverages impact blood sugar, but any carbohydrate (sugar or starch) will turn to sugar in the blood, including sugar-free desserts. Take sugar-free cherry pie for example: “It will still turn to sugar in the blood because it’s made with flour (gluten-free flour or regular) and fruit, both of which contain natural carbohydrates,” Snyder says. “Carbohydrates are not a bad thing, but getting the right amount at a meal is crucial, usually 30 to 60 g per meal. This amount can vary depending on your personal needs so schedule an appointment with a registered dietitian to find out what the right amount is for your body.”
Myth 7: A gluten-free diet is ideal.
Truth: Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley and those who have celiac disease are allergic to this protein and need to avoid gluten to stay healthy. “However, gluten-free foods can actually have more carbohydrates as they are denser than their gluten-containing counterparts,” Snyder says. “Also it’s important to be wary of gluten-free junk food like cakes, cookies and pies. These treats can be just as unhealthy as the ones that aren’t gluten-free.”
Myth 8: A juice cleanse will help prompt quick weight-loss.
Truth: While juice cleanses claim to help you lose weight and detox your body, these can also temporarily slow your metabolism. “The weight loss you see is likely water weight that you will quickly gain back when the cleanse is over,” Snyder says. “What our body really needs to detox is fiber found in plant foods, including fruit (with the skin), vegetables, nuts, seeds and dried cooked beans. When you juice any of these, you lose the healthy fiber in those foods.”
Myth 9: Cutting out all ‘white foods’ will keep me healthy.
Truth: “When you only have a few minutes with your doctor to talk about nutrition, it’s easy for him or her to say, ‘don’t eat any foods that are white,’” Snyder says. “That’s easy to remember, but that advice sometimes gets misinterpreted. I take this advice as follow: Choose foods with fiber since fiber can help keep you fuller longer, keep you regular and help maintain more even blood sugar levels.” Your best bet: Choose whole grain bread (instead of white bread), brown rice (instead of white rice) and potatoes with the skin (instead of peeled).
Myth 10: If you are overweight or obese, you will develop Type 2 diabetes.
Truth: Many people with Type 2 diabetes are at a normal weight or only moderately overweight. Other factors such as family history, ethnicity and age can also play a role.
Myth 11: People with diabetes are more likely to get colds and other illnesses.
Truth: Having diabetes doesn’t make you more likely to catch a cold or the flu, but people with diabetes are advised to get flu shots. This is because chronic illnesses like diabetes can make the immune system less capable of fighting infections. Also, people with diabetes who do get the flu are more likely than others to develop serious complications like pneumonia, bronchitis and sinus infections.
2 More Truths About Diabetes
1. Prediabetes doesn’t always lead to full-blown diabetes.
Also known as impaired glucose tolerance, prediabetes simply means that the amount of glucose—that is, sugar—in your blood is higher than it should be but not high enough to qualify as type 2 diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, making three lifestyle changes—losing weight, watching your diet, and exercising—can increase your chances of preventing or delaying type 2 diabetes by up to 58 percent.
2. Exercise is just as crucial as diet.
Here’s where insulin comes in: This hormone helps transport glucose from your blood into your body’s cells, which burn the sugar for energy. When you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, either your body doesn’t produce enough insulin or your cells don’t use it efficiently; as a result, glucose builds up in the blood. When you exercise and lose weight, your body is better able to employ its supply of insulin (or decrease “insulin resistance”), making it easier to control blood sugar levels. It’s also possible for some people to reverse diabetes—here’s how.
Sources
Elizabeth Snyder, a registered dietician and certified diabetes educator at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
