Clinic "VITAMED MEDICAL" Myths about diabetes

Endocrinologist of the VITAMED MEDICAL clinic Nusratkhuzhaeva Shakhzodakhon Utkurovna will introduce you to an article on the topic: “Myths about diabetes mellitus”

In my daily practice, I have to answer many questions from my patients. Most often these are questions related to nutrition and lifestyle with diabetes. By properly educating the patient and providing complete information about his illness, he can be effectively treated, achieving compensation and improving the quality of life.

But in cases where there are questions, but there is nowhere for them to get answers, peculiar “myths” are born among patients, which they share with each other and mislead.

The purpose of this article is to dispel the most common of these myths and help patients understand what is true and what is not.

MYTH: Diabetes can occur if you eat too many sweets.

Diabetes mellitus by itself does not arise from eating sweets. If you have a normal weight and are physically active, then you can eat sweets as much as you want. But if your close relatives suffer from diabetes, and eating sweets leads to the development of obesity in you, then you are at risk for diabetes. But you will also be at risk if you have obesity, a sedentary lifestyle - and at the same time you practically do not eat sweets, and your weight increases from consuming “fast food”, chips, fatty foods and other foods.

MYTH: Diabetes always runs in families.

Diabetes is a hereditary disease, but this does not mean that children whose parents have diabetes will have it. If you lead a healthy lifestyle, eat right, and, most importantly, have a normal weight, then the likelihood of developing diabetes is extremely low.

MYTH: A diabetic is already disabled

In fact, it is not diabetes itself that you should be afraid of, but its complications. If you choose the right treatment and maintain blood sugar closer to physiological norms, then complications can be avoided as much as possible.

MYTH: Diabetics need to follow a strict diet.

Today, the patient’s diet is calculated so that he receives all nutrients (proteins, fats and carbohydrates) in physiological proportions. Animal fats should be limited. Carbohydrate foods, on the contrary, should be constantly present and varied. Only a healthy person converts them into energy himself, and a diabetic does so with the help of medications. Another thing is that in both cases, it is preferable not to simple or “fast” carbohydrates (sugar and sugar-containing products), but to complex ones (cereals, bread, potatoes, pasta), which also contain fiber.

If the patient is on insulin therapy, is well acquainted with the rules and applies them in practice, then his nutritional diet may practically not differ from the diet of a healthy person.

MYTH: Buckwheat and green apples are good for diabetes

They are healthy, just like oats or red apples. Buckwheat (like other grains) contains starch (a complex carbohydrate) and fiber, so it raises blood glucose levels quite slowly.  As for apples and other fruits, regardless of their color, they contain the same amount of carbohydrates and will equally increase blood glucose levels. Green apples are sour not because they do not contain sugar (fructose), but because they contain more fruit acids than red and yellow apples.

MYTH:  Sweeteners are harmless and do not raise blood sugar.

There are natural (fructose, xylitol, sorbitol, stevioside) and artificial (aspartame, saccharin, cyclomate, sucrasite) sweeteners (SZ). Artificial SZ contain much fewer calories and do not increase blood sugar, but there is scientific evidence that they adversely affect internal organs and also have carcinogenic properties. Natural sugars are almost as high in calories as sugar, but are absorbed 3 times slower and do not cause severe hyperglycemia, increasing blood sugar more slowly. Therefore, it is better to give preference to natural sweeteners, consuming them in reasonable quantities.

MYTH: You can eat diabetic sweets as much as you want.

Sweets containing fructose, glucose, and baked goods containing artificial sweeteners are sold in any supermarket. People eat them without fear of consequences, but sugar still rises, since fructose is absorbed more slowly than sugar, but it also increases blood glucose. So again we need to remember the quantity. One or two pieces are safe, but a whole pack will be harmful.

MYTH: Honey is good for diabetics.

Experts have different opinions on this issue, but there is no clear answer. Honey withIt consists mainly of 35% glucose and 55% fructose, therefore it slowly but surely increases blood sugar, but due to the fact that honey is a natural and very healthy product, which also has various microelements and vitamins, it can be consumed by diabetics up to two tablespoons per day, provided that diabetes is fully compensated. If blood sugar is elevated and glycated hemoglobin is above 7.5%, then consuming honey can only aggravate diabetes.

MYTH: Insulin is addictive.

In type 1 diabetes, insulin is simply vital. But insulin therapy can also be prescribed to a patient with type 2 diabetes for various reasons, and then patients are afraid to get used to it and refuse to switch to insulin therapy. You can’t think like that about insulin and be afraid of it. It happens that no pill can cope with the situation, because as type 2 diabetes mellitus progresses, the beta cells that produce insulin develop, and then insulin therapy comes to the rescue and compensates for what the body cannot produce on its own. In addition, insulin therapy for type 2 diabetes may be required temporarily (pregnancy, acute macrovascular complications, surgical interventions, various infectious diseases). Once the condition has stabilized, insulin can be discontinued.

MYTH: Diabetes can be cured using alternative medicine.

This is the most dangerous misconception. Methods of alternative medicine for type 2 diabetes mellitus, together with drug treatment, can have a positive effect, but will not lead to a cure. And in type 1 diabetes, no “tabibs” or miraculous methods can restore the dead beta cells of the pancreas, which produce insulin.

MYTH: Alcohol lowers blood sugar, so it's good for diabetes.

This misconception is not only stupid, but also dangerous. High blood sugar does not decrease from alcohol. Blood sugar drops after drinking alcohol because alcohol blocks the flow of carbohydrates from the liver into the blood! The body has two sources of increased blood sugar: carbohydrates from food and glucose from the liver. Now imagine what will happen if glucose from the liver stops entering the blood: all the glucose from food will be absorbed by the body’s cells and the blood sugar level will drop below 3.3 mmol/l, because the mechanism that prevents this drop (liver glucose) is blocked by alcohol. Severe hypoglycemia will develop!

MYTH: If you have diabetes, pregnancy is contraindicated.

If a woman suffering from diabetes mellitus keeps her blood sugar under control, does not have severe complications of diabetes, and is trained in self-control and nutritional rules, then pregnancy is not contraindicated for her. But it is important to remember that during pregnancy, blood sugar should be between 4 and 8 mmol/l.

MYTH: If you have diabetes, you should avoid physical activity.

Physical activity for diabetes is the same element of treatment as diet and drug treatment. During physical activity, working muscles become more sensitive to the action of insulin and more actively absorb glucose from the blood, thereby reducing its content. Numerous studies have proven that patients with diabetes who regularly exercise have a more favorable prognosis in the development of diabetes complications. You just need to remember that you can start exercising when your blood sugar is below 10 mmol/l, the load should be feasible, and do not forget to take measures to prevent hypoglycemia, because Blood sugar can drop significantly during exercise.

MYTH: Diabetes will inevitably lead to vision loss and limb amputation.

Indeed, persistently high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking can lead to such consequences. But timely contact with specialists, properly selected treatment and normoglycemia will help avoid such consequences.

MYTH: You can't eat white bread, but you can eat black bread.

In fact, brown and white bread raise blood sugar levels equally. Butter bread raises blood sugar more, and bread with added bran or whole grains raises blood sugar less than regular bread. The amount of any bread should be moderate. But you shouldn’t completely abandon it.

MYTH: Immediately after starting insulin therapy, your blood sugar levels will return to normal.

Everyone has different insulin sensitivity, so there is no one-size-fits-all regimen. Treatment will allow you to achieve normal blood sugar levels, but only as a result of gradual titration (selection of optimal individual doses). At the same time there is a lotdoes not depend on the patient being trained in all the rules of insulin therapy

MYTH: Insulin makes you fat

They get fat from an incorrect lifestyle, from incorrectly selected doses of insulin, and with poor compensation. When doses of insulin are too large, a person may fall into a state of hypoglycemia several times a day. Accordingly, he will overeat. Thus, he eats much more than a person needs per day, and glycemia naturally increases. The person increases the dose of insulin, thereby worsening the situation. The next time he gets more severe hypoglycemia, eats sweets, then lowers the sugar again with insulin. At the same time, the sugar jumps up and down and so on ad infinitum. A decrease in blood glucose levels is recognized by the body as stress, as a result of which a protective mechanism is activated and all counter-insular hormones are released: cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine, growth hormone and glucagon into the blood. This sets in motion the process of breakdown of glycogen - a reserve of glucose in the liver in case of sudden danger. As a result, rebound hyperglycemia occurs. If insulin doses are adjusted correctly, this effect will not occur.

MYTH: You cannot completely eliminate sugar from your diet, since glucose is needed for the brain.

The brain consumes glucose, which is found in the blood plasma. It is formed from foods containing complex carbohydrates (vegetables and grains) and liver glycogen. You don't need regular sugar for this.  Thus, regular sugar, which quickly increases blood glucose levels, can and should be abandoned.

MYTH: If you are diagnosed with diabetes for the first time, you can manage with diet and physical activity.

It has now been proven that a balanced diet and moderate physical activity are not independent methods of treating type 2 diabetes, but are recognized as the key to the success of complex therapy for this disease. Immediately after identifying type 2 diabetes, drug therapy is started - this allows you to achieve normal blood glucose levels as quickly as possible and avoid the development or progression of late complications of diabetes.

MYTH: Fruits are wholesome and healthy foods, so you can eat as much of them as you like.

Fruits are certainly healthy, containing fiber and lots of vitamins and minerals. However, fruits also contain carbohydrates, most often “simple” ones, which quickly increase blood glucose levels. Therefore, for type 1 diabetes mellitus, they must be taken into account by bread units, and for type 2 diabetes mellitus, they must be limited, and some (grapes, raisins, melon) even excluded.

If the patient is well acquainted with his disease and adheres to the recommendations of the endocrinologist, then the myths are dispelled by themselves, and a clear awareness of the whole picture remains. Accordingly, the quality of life improves, and you begin to live a full life.

Good health to you!

You can ask any questions you are interested in by sending a request by email or by contacting us by phone:

info@vitamed.uz

(+998 71) 129-81-81

(+998 71) 129-82-82

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