Part 1 of 2 parts
Too many people believe these myths and
do not understand what diabetes is and what is required by people
with diabetes. This is then spread by the people with no
understanding and knowledge of diabetes to literally make the life of
people with diabetes hell to live everyday. They become accusatory
to people with diabetes and will not listen to the truth. This is
done to people with all types of diabetes, but I am writing this for
mainly people with type 2 diabetes.
The following myths WebMD says are
associated with diabetes:
#1. Eating too much sugar causes
diabetes. It would be great if this was true and there would be
an easy way to prevent diabetes. But this is untrue and the causes
of diabetes are not totally understood. Diabetes normally starts
because some function that the body does normally slows down or
becomes nearly unfunctional. When you eat food, it is broken down
into glucose. This means that all food is handled this way. Glucose
is the food for cells and without adequate insulin, it will not enter
the individual cells and they become starved for fuel that the body
needs.
#2. There are too many rules in a
diabetes diet. First, there is not a specific diabetes diet.
The person with diabetes needs to use his/her meter to determine how
foods affect the body and the blood glucose levels. This is becoming
tougher all the time with the doctors, insurers, and government
always wanting to limit the testing supplies. Always remember that
what works for one person, may not work for you. You need to
determine the food that works for you and learn to limit the quantity
of food you consume based on the results of your meter. The level of
your exercise, the medication(s) you are taking need to be determined
to keep your blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible.
#3. Carbohydrates are bad for
diabetes. This one is more true than false. Our dietitians push
carbohydrates at us as being necessary and the foundation of a
healthy diabetes diet. The foregoing sentence is the false part and
this is because they have a conflict of interest because they are a
puppet of Big Food. More people are finding that food plans that
limit carbohydrates are healthier and help manage diabetes.
The dietitians always bring the same
dogma to the table that people that don't consume many carbohydrates,
especially whole grains, are missing many essential nutrients,
meaning vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They might be believed if
people hadn't learned that there are other foods lower in
carbohydrates and can also balance the nutrients, in fact, can have
more of the nutrients than whole grains. Yes, some fruits and many
vegetables are still needed, but be careful what you believe from
dietitians.
#4. Protein is better than
carbohydrates for diabetes. BE CARFUL. Because carbohydrates
affect blood glucose levels so quickly, you may be inclined to and
should eat less carbohydrates. However, do not substitute too much
protein for the carbohydrates cut from your food plan. If you do,
you can possibly develop other health problems. If you can find
someone well schooled in nutrition consult with them and not
dietitians because they will only promote high carbohydrate/low fat
food plans and you need a balanced food plan that fits your needs.
Fats are not the bad boys and too little fat is also bad for your
health.
#5. You can adjust your diabetes
drugs to 'cover' whatever you eat. This is just false. Don't do
this unless you have discussed this with your doctor and he has
approved. Most doctors will not unless you are overly thin and you
could gain a few pounds. Insulin is also about the only medication
you will be allowed to use for this if approved. Most diabetes drugs
work best when they are taken consistently and as directed by your
doctor. Oral medications normally will not be able to manage
diabetes if too many carbohydrates are consumed and will have even
more trouble if the level of fats in your food plan is too low.
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