Post Date December, 03 2023
Diabetes is a common chronic disease in china.
Around us, one in ten adults has diabetes. Now, there are more than 100 million adult diabetes patients in China.
However, there are some misunderstandings about diabetes. The health headline summarizes the ten most common misconceptions and provides a way to dispel them and restore the truth.
Misunderstanding 1
Diabetes is not a serious disease.
Fact: diabetes is a serious disease.
Every year, the number of deaths caused by diabetes far exceeds the number of deaths caused by breast cancer and AIDS, and the risk of heart disease of diabetes patients is several times higher than that of normal people.
Diabetes can also cause many complications, such as diabetes eye disease, diabetes foot, diabetes nephropathy, etc. these complications can cause disability, death, and serious harm to the health of patients.
Fortunately, if the blood sugar is well controlled, it can effectively reduce the complications of diabetes.
Misunderstanding 2
Overweight or obesity will definitely lead to type 2 diabetes.
Fact: Obesity is indeed one of the risk factors of diabetes, but other factors, such as family genetic history, race and age, will also affect the occurrence of diabetes.
But many people ignore other risk factors of diabetes and regard obesity as the only cause of diabetes.
In fact, many people with type 2 diabetes have normal weight or are just overweight. Not all very fat people will get diabetes.
What we need to do is to have regular physical examinations, pay attention to our biochemical indicators, including blood sugar, and try to control our weight within a normal range.
Misunderstanding 3
Eating too much sugar can lead to diabetes.
Fact: This issue is relatively complex.
Type 1 diabetes is caused by genetic factors and many other unknown factors; Type 2 diabetes is closely related to genetic factors and lifestyle.
Overweight will increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, and any unhealthy high calorie diet will lead to weight gain.
Research shows that drinking sugary drinks is closely related to the occurrence of type 2 diabetes. Generally speaking, sugary drinks include:
Soda, carbonated beverages;
Fruit juices, including mixed fruit juices, fruit flavored beverages, and concentrated fruit juices;
Energy drinks;
Sports drinks;
Sugar containing tea drinks;
Certain formulated milk, milk containing beverages, and vegetable protein beverages, including coconut milk, walnut milk, etc;
Other sugary beverages.
These drinks can rapidly increase blood sugar, and a glass of sugary drinks can contain hundreds of calories, such as:
A can of soda (350 mL) contains approximately 150 calories and 40 grams of sugar. This is equivalent to the amount of heat provided by 10 cubes of sugar;
A mixed juice drink and other sweetened juices contain 100 calories, 30 grams of sugar, and more.
Misunderstanding 4
Patients with diabetes should eat a special diet for diabetes.
Fact: Whether diabetics or healthy people, healthy diet has common standards: appropriate energy, whole grain food, sufficient high-quality protein, rich vegetables, moderate fruit, moderate salt, and healthy fat.
Therefore, there is nothing special about diabetes diet compared with the healthy diet that advocates ordinary food. The so-called "sugar free" and "hypoglycemic" foods only do not add raw materials such as white granulated sugar in the processing process. They still raise blood sugar after eating, and are usually expensive. diabetes patients do not need to choose these foods deliberately.
Misunderstanding 5
People with diabetes should eat less food containing starch.
Fact: Starch containing foods can be included in the diet of diabetes patients, and the amount of food is the key.
Friends with diabetes can eat rice, noodles, bread, starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, yams, taro, etc. These foods can account for 1/4 of the total amount of food in a meal.
In addition to these starchy foods, various foods containing sugars, such as fruits, beans, milk, yogurt, and candy, should be included in the entire diet plan because they all provide energy.
Misunderstanding 6
People with diabetes can't eat candy or chocolate.
Fact: diabetes patients can eat candy and chocolate, provided that the sugar content of these foods is calculated in the energy needed every day, and diabetes patients need more exercise to control blood sugar.
Candy and chocolate are not very different for diabetes patients and ordinary people. The characteristic of candy is that it has a strong sugar raising effect in a small amount. Therefore, diabetes patients should focus on healthy food in ordinary days, such as cereals, meat, and fresh vegetables; And when an emergency occurs, such as a hypoglycemic attack, a small candy can save a person's life!
Misunderstanding 7
Diabetes can be contagious.
Fact: Not so! Although the specific cause of diabetes is not clear, diabetes is not contagious.
Diabetes cannot spread from person to person like hepatitis B or influenza, and the risk factors of diabetes are more related to genetic factors and lifestyle.
Misunderstanding 8
People with diabetes are more likely to catch cold.
Fact: Having diabetes does not mean an increased risk of catching a cold.
However, we still recommend that people with diabetes be vaccinated against influenza. This is because any infectious disease will be more difficult to treat in diabetes patients, and their condition will be more likely to deteriorate and produce serious complications.
Misunderstanding 9
For patients with type 2 diabetes, using insulin means that the disease is very serious.
Fact: There are many treatment plans for diabetes, which may only use oral hypoglycemic drugs, insulin, or insulin and oral hypoglycemic drugs at the same time. Endocrinologists will choose the most suitable treatment plan based on the different conditions of the patient, and may also adjust the treatment plan based on changes in the patient's condition.
Many patients can control their blood sugar well only through oral hypoglycemic drugs; When some patients are first diagnosed, doctors will use insulin for a period of time, also to allow the patient's pancreas to "rest" before switching to oral hypoglycemic drugs.
Therefore, we cannot judge whether a patient's condition is serious based on whether to use insulin.
Misunderstanding 10
Fruit is a healthy food that can be consumed without restriction.
Fact: Fruit is indeed a very healthy food, containing fiber, multiple vitamins, and minerals. But because fruits contain carbohydrates, how much to eat every day should be considered in the overall diet plan. Moreover, for some patients whose blood sugar control is not very good, fruit may increase the risk of blood sugar fluctuations, so it is better to eat less.
For friends who have good blood sugar control, it is recommended to eat between meals, not more than a fist sized fruit a day.
