Top 5 diabetes myths
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- This month is National Diabetes Awareness month. Currently in the United States, there are almost 30 million people with type two diabetes. But, about a third of those people don't know they have it. That could be, in part, due to some common myths surrounding the disease.
Dr. Jennifer Green is an Endocrinologist with Duke Medicine. As part of Diabetes Awareness Month, she's published a blog article outlining some common myths surrounding the disease.
1) No one in my family has it so I can't get it.
While it's true that having a close relative with type 2 diabetes does increase your risk, there are other factors to consider.
"All of us are at increased risk as we age and certainly as we gain weight, and sometimes medicine we have to take for other reasons can increase our risk as well," explained Dr. Green.
2) Diabetes is simply caused by too much sugar.
"We can gain weight and be at risk for diabetes by eating lots of different kinds of foods, and sugar isn't necessarily to blame for that," Dr. Green said.
3) If you have diabetes you can't eat any sugar and carbs.
As with many things it's a matter of all in moderation. "They're not totally off-limits, and carbohydrates are an important building block of our diet regardless of whether we have diabetes," Dr. Green said. However, she cautions that patients should still talk to their doctor or nutritionist about how to properly incorporate those into a balanced diet.
4) It's best to delay using medication as long as possible.
Dr. Green's response is, "It's true that no one needs to take more medications than necessary. However, the bottom line is, it's important that whenever you find out that you have diabetes that you control your blood sugar right from the start through any means necessary."
5) Only people with severe diabetes need to take insulin.
"It's true that most people who live long enough with diabetes are going to need insulin to control their blood sugars adequately. Years ago, doctors used to wait a long time to prescribe insulin, sometimes until the person was very sick from complications of diabetes. And so there was an erroneous assumption that the insulin had caused those problems when, in fact, it's quite possible that if the person had started insulin earlier they would have had fewer complications," Dr. Green clarified.
As for warning signs of diabetes, while those can vary from person to person, the most common symptoms can include feeling tired, losing weight unintentionally, feeling very thirsty or urinating frequently and can be confirmed usually with a basic blood test.
Meanwhile, if you have type 2 diabetes and you're taking the drug Metformin right now, Duke Medicine is actually looking for some participants in a clinical study.
FOR MORE ON THE STUDY:
Email: gradestudy@duke.edu
(919) 684-4319
