Diabetes is one of the most common metabolic diseases that has been rising around the globe at an increasing rate. With so many people having diabetes, it is very important to learn the right information. Read on to learn some diabetes myth busters to understand diabetes management and control.
There are numerous myths associated with diabetes and its management. Living with myths can be dangerous for so many reasons and can lead to an unfair stigma around the condition.
7 Diabetes Myth Busters
Myth 1: My sugar levels are under control, and my diabetes has gone away, hence I can stop my medication
Diabetes can be controlled, but you cannot completely wash it away. You shouldn’t alter your medication unless advised by your doctor. That’s because your prescribed medicines are aiding insulin production that allows sugar to be absorbed from your blood. Just make sure you periodically review your medicines and dosage with your doctor.
Myth 2: Injecting insulin is painful
No! Diabetes insulin doesn’t need to hurt. If you practice good injection techniques, the experience will be almost painless. If you need any assistance on this, just let the BeatO health coaches guide you on the technique.
What are some tips for injecting insulin? Make sure to rotate the site where you inject so that the scar tissue doesn’t build up. Also, keep in mind not to inject near your joints, groin area, navel, the middle of your stomach, or on existing scars.
Myth 3: Alcohol is off-limits
Not really, but the condition is that it should be included occasionally and in a responsible way. Just make sure that if and when you consume alcohol, you do so with the ideal snack or food for diabetics, which includes protein and low carbs. This will avoid you going into a hypo state (e.g., feeling dizzy).
Your liver maintains glucose levels to provide energy to your brain. When you drink on an empty stomach, it will prioritize breaking down alcohol from the blood rather than balancing glucose levels.
BeatO suggests that if you must, then drink in moderation and avoid beer, sweet wines, and cocktails with juices and sugary mix-ins.
Myth 4: I can eat everything sugar-free
No way! If the product contains other carbohydrates in the form of flour, cornmeal, corn starch, etc., that get converted into glucose during digestion, then this can actually cause more harm than good. Sugar-free in the mouth is not necessarily sugar-free in the blood.
Myth 5: People with diabetes lose both their eyesight and legs
It is globally known that diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness. Moreover, it also leads to damage of nerves and tissues in legs and feet, resulting in many amputations each year. However, like with any illness, maintaining healthy levels of blood pressure, glucose, and weight together improves your overall health and lifestyle and allows you to remain free from all diabetes-related complications.
Blindness and amputation are therefore preventable simply by undergoing regular blood tests recommended for diabetes.
Myth 6: People with diabetes are more prone to various illnesses
This is not entirely true. People with diabetes are not more prone to colds or other illnesses. However, illness holds more significance for people with diabetes because it can make managing blood glucose levels more difficult, increasing the severity of a disease or infection. After all, prevention is always better than cure.
Myth 7: Diabetes is contagious
This myth has been rooted for ages giving rise to diabetes-related stigma in society. But let’s face it, diabetes cannot be caught off someone else. It is categorized as being a non-communicable illness meaning it cannot be passed on by sneezing, through touch, nor via blood or any other person-to-person means.
The only way in which diabetes is transferred from one person to the other is through genetic history – like from parents to their own children. But even this is only a genetic likelihood of diabetes and not the condition itself.
Read more: 10 Interesting Facts About Diabetes Worth Knowing
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