7 Myths & Facts About Diabetes You Should Know

Did you know that among all the diseases that affect a person for a life time, it is diabetes that is widely affecting people all over the world? Even there has been a notable rise in the number of children suffering from diabetes. Diabetes is often defined as a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar either because of inadequate insulin production or because the body’s cells are not responding to insulin properly. Since it affects your body’s ability to handle glucose, it can have adverse impacts on smooth functioning of your internal organs, thus inviting other lifestyle diseases as well.

Over the years, we have adopted sedentary lifestyle and our food consumption patterns have significantly changed and this has become the primary reason for occurrence of lifestyle diseases. Low physical activity and increasing stress has alleviated our health issues and has made us prone to diseases like diabetes. Adding to our woes is the lack of knowledge or awareness about diabetes and there are many myths that prevent us from being serious about this disease.

Even if you don’t have diabetes now or none of your parents or grandparents have ever suffered from this disease, this doesn’t mean you are at a lower risk of getting prone to diabetes. There are many myths relating to the possible risk factors, symptoms or health care tips relating to diabetes. Many diabetic patients in fact, find it difficult to understand what a balanced diet actually is. They thereby, fall prey to myths and fictional theories of their peers and end up worsening their present situation. To enable you to easily differentiate between fiction and facts, here are 7 myths & facts about diabetes you should know:

1. Myth – Obese People Are Prone To Type-2 Diabetes

If you have heard that people who are overweight have greater chances of suffering from type-2 diabetes, then get this fact rectified. Being overweight is just one of the reasons for suffering diabetes and not all obese people are diabetes patients. If you have a family history of diabetes or you are obese due to poor lifestyle habits, then you are at a greater risk of suffering from this disease.

2. Myth – You Have To Follow A Strict Diet

People often iterate that if you have diabetes you need to follow a strict diet and will have to change the way you eat. But you must know that healthy eating must be followed by everyone including diabetes patients. Instead of following a set pattern of diet, focus on including only healthy food in your diet and have small portions of food in frequent time intervals. It would be best if you follow a proper schedule for eating meals.

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3. Myth – Diabetes Is Not A Critical Disease

If you perceive that diabetes is a common disease and taking medications will control it, then you must know that as per a recent survey, deaths caused by diabetes is outnumbering the deaths caused by AIDS or breast cancer. Diabetes in fact, alleviates the risk of heart diseases or heart failures. You need to be serious about tackling this disease. Soon after detection, you must ensure that your blood sugar levels are under control and go for frequent medical check-ups as suggested by your doctor.

4. Myth – Avoid Accompanying A Diabetic If You Don’t To Be One

This is completely false that by being with a diabetic, you can get contracted with diabetes. First of all, diabetes is not contagious and secondly, it is lifestyle, genetic and age factors that are responsible for occurrence of this disease. Get this fact right before being insensitive towards a diabetes patient.

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5. Myth – Excessive Consumption Of Sugar Causes Diabetes

It is completely a myth if you believe the stereotypical notion that too much consumption of sugar causes diabetes. In contrary, if you have diabetes, you must slow down on the consumption of sugar. The causes of diabetes are genetic or due to unhealthy lifestyle patterns and you can prevent suffering from diabetes only through healthy diet and regular exercise.

6. Myth – Say Goodbye To Sweets If You Suffer From Diabetes

This too is myth. You don’t have to ban sweets from your diet just because you have diabetes. All you need to do is have sweets occasionally and in moderate quantities to ensure the insulin balance in your body. It should also be noted that more than thinking what not to eat, diabetes patients must focus on following a healthy food consumption pattern while ensuring moderate physical activities too.

7. Myth – Workout Is A Big No-No For Diabetes Patients

This myth in fact, is one of the most followed beliefs since diabetes also causes swelling of legs and thighs making it painful to put strain to the muscles. But medical experts suggest that moderate physical activities such as walking, beginner level yoga and stretching exercises are beneficial for diabetes patients. These meagre activities help in lowering the blood sugar level while improving metabolic activities. Medications too respond well when the patient involves in slight workouts and lives an active lifestyle.