home
RSS
Five diabetes myths, busted
June 24th, 2011
09:47 AM ET

Five diabetes myths, busted

David Kendall, M.D., is the chief scientific and medical officer of the The American Diabetes Association. The group’s 71st Scientific Sessions begin Friday in San Diego, California, with presentations of the latest research, treatment recommendations and advances toward a cure for diabetes.

Each year diabetes accounts for more deaths than breast cancer and AIDS combined. While diabetes (both type 1 and type 2) is ever more manageable because of advances in medication, a better understanding of blood glucose monitoring and new technologies for delivering insulin, uncontrolled or undiagnosed diabetes still remains the leading cause of blindness in adults, kidney failure and amputation.

There are many myths about diabetes - myths that can do much harm. Many believe that diabetes is “just a touch of sugar,” or only something we develop in later life.

Although diabetes is manageable, the diabetes epidemic continues to grow; every 17 seconds someone is diagnosed with diabetes and at the current rate, one in three people in the U.S. will have diabetes by the year 2050.

Knowing the facts (and your own risk) can help all of us fight the misconceptions associated with this awful disease and ultimately stop diabetes.

So take a minute to learn the facts about diabetes. The more we know, the better equipped we are to detect, prevent and treat diabetes and its deadly complications.

1) Myth: Diabetes is really no big deal.

Fact: As I’ve already noted, diabetes causes more deaths a year than breast cancer and AIDS combined. The risk of heart problems is more than twice as high in people with diabetes and two out of three people with diabetes die from heart disease or stroke. Uncontrolled diabetes also leads to a host of other complications.

2) Myth: Eating too much sugar causes diabetes.

Fact: There is no one food or nutrient that causes diabetes. Type 1 diabetes (where all of the body’s insulin producing cells are destroyed) develops both because of genetics and from poorly understood environmental triggers that result in the onset of the disease. Type 2 diabetes is the result of both genetic and lifestyle factors.

There is no question that being overweight or obese increases your risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Weight gain occurs as a result of excess calories, and whether these calories come from a soda, breads, snacks or meat doesn’t generally matter. Because of genetics, some people gain weight more easily than others, but there is still an imbalance between calories eaten and those burned off.

Because of the complex relationship between genetics, the environment and lifestyle, it is incorrect to say that sugar causes diabetes.

3) Myth: If you are overweight or obese, you will eventually develop type 2 diabetes.

Fact: As we stated earlier, being overweight is a very important risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes. In fact, it is the most important modifiable risk factor. Other risk factors such as a family history of type 2 diabetes, ethnicity and age are things that you cannot change.

It is also true that most overweight people never develop type 2 diabetes, and as many as one-fourth of people with type 2 diabetes are at a normal weight or only moderately overweight. The thing to keep in mind is that if you have a family history of diabetes, you should do your best to be physically active and eat a healthy diet. If you are overweight, losing about 7% of your weight (14 pounds for a 200 pound person) can help delay or prevent diabetes.

4) Myth: If you have diabetes, you can’t eat any bread, potatoes, pasta, fruit, sugar or dessert.

Fact: This is a long-held misconception about the carbohydrates in food. With carbohydrates - and calories in general - it all comes back to portion sizes or how much you eat.

Starchy foods and fruit can be included in a meal plan for people with diabetes. The best tip is to have no more than 1/4 of your plate from starchy foods like whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, rice or starchy vegetables like potatoes, yams, peas and corn.

Fill half of your plate with low carbohydrate non-starchy vegetables like salad, broccoli, green beans or tomatoes. The last quarter of your plate is for fish, chicken, lean meats or meat substitutes. This helps to control the amount of carbohydrate that you eat while providing lots of fiber and healthy food choices.

5) Myth: People with diabetes can't eat sweets or chocolate.

Fact: Sweet foods (including most dessert items), if eaten in small portions, can be eaten by people with diabetes. There is no such thing as a “off limit” food; however, the key is substituting in a sweet treat into an otherwise healthy meal plan.

Everyone - diabetes or no diabetes - should avoid empty calories (those without real food value) and limit the total amount of calories they consume (and yes, most desserts are high in calories).

Post by:
Filed under: Diabetes

soundoff (2,875 Responses)
  1. RV Repair Fountain Valley

    http://all-that-jazzbrands.us/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvcenter.com

    June 20, 2021 at 23:04 | Report abuse | Reply
  2. www.pharmaceptica.com

    side effects of tadalafil https://pharmaceptica.com/

    June 21, 2021 at 00:03 | Report abuse | Reply
  3. house shifting vehicles chennai

    https://www.tsrpackersandmovers.com/

    June 21, 2021 at 00:35 | Report abuse | Reply
  4. 먹튀검증

    After I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is added I recieve 4 emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is a way you can remove me from that service? Thanks!

    https://yslyga.com.ua/user/profile/60631

    June 21, 2021 at 01:05 | Report abuse | Reply
  5. RV Repair Shops Nearby

    Howdy! This post couldnít be written any better! Looking through this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he'll have a good read. I appreciate you for sharing!

    http://www.texasbestsmokehouse.biz/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvcenter.com

    June 21, 2021 at 01:17 | Report abuse | Reply
  6. RV Repair Near Me Now

    http://nativeamericanhealth.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvcenter.com

    June 21, 2021 at 01:30 | Report abuse | Reply
  7. pizza deals near me

    Hi, I do believe this is a great site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will revisit once again since i have book marked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to help others.

    http://365us.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=bestlocalnearme.com

    June 21, 2021 at 01:41 | Report abuse | Reply
  8. 먹튀검증커뮤니티

    This web site truly has all of the information I wanted about this subject and didnít know who to ask.

    http://ztndz.com/story9065478/noir-gris-et-quarante-a-game-of-bluff

    June 21, 2021 at 01:43 | Report abuse | Reply
  9. Nelson Jumalon

    Just desire to say your article is as surprising. The clearness in your post is just nice and i could assume you are an expert on this subject. Fine with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please carry on the enjoyable work.

    https://harvey-mcmillan.technetbloggers.de/questions-to-ask-before-starting-up-your-car-service-business-in-quincy-ma

    June 21, 2021 at 02:11 | Report abuse | Reply
  10. 먹튀검증

    You need to take part in a contest for one of the most useful blogs online. I most certainly will recommend this web site!

    http://www.siteglimpse.com/external/ext.aspx?url=https://casinogambling6zandermxte269.edublogs.org/2021/03/04/what-would-the-world-look-like-without-eba8b9ed8a80eab280eca69d/

    June 21, 2021 at 03:45 | Report abuse | Reply
  11. RV Repair Orange County

    http://www.mmarine.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvcenter.com

    June 21, 2021 at 04:32 | Report abuse | Reply
  12. 토토사이트

    Saved as a favorite, I like your site!

    http://shaboxes.com/author/aircrop0/

    June 21, 2021 at 04:37 | Report abuse | Reply
  13. Lovie Kaliszuk

    I'm a teenager and I heard that you can actually get paid for things like this. I'm experienced with computers and have good literature skills and I'm sure I can write successful blogs/articles.. . On a different (sort of) topic, would I be able to join affiliate programs?.

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/kmkowalsky/

    June 21, 2021 at 05:03 | Report abuse | Reply
  14. gas stations near me

    Way cool! Some very valid points! I appreciate you writing this write-up and the rest of the website is really good.

    http://ad.wx.lt/redirect.php?url=https://bestshopnearme.com

    June 21, 2021 at 05:12 | Report abuse | Reply
  15. Brant Reginal

    I bought a brand new hp computer over a month ago. Is turning it off every night bad for the computer or should the computer be left on 24-7. I have heard both ways. Any computer techs answers would be appreciated..

    https://www.instagram.com/katekdesigns

    June 21, 2021 at 05:36 | Report abuse | Reply
  16. Corinna Stormer

    Why does Firefox not work since I downloaded yahoo instant messenger?

    https://www.facebook.com/KateKowalskyWebMarketing

    June 21, 2021 at 05:38 | Report abuse | Reply
  17. RV Repair Shops Nearby

    Everyone loves it when folks come together and share views. Great site, keep it up!

    http://sc.hkexnews.hk/TuniS/ocrvcenter.com

    June 21, 2021 at 05:40 | Report abuse | Reply
  18. 창원출장마사지

    You are so awesome! I do not think I've truly read a single thing like that before. So great to discover someone with some unique thoughts on this subject. Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is something that's needed on the internet, someone with a bit of originality!

    https://canvas.instructure.com/eportfolios/129150/massage6marmaimgav/Why_You_Should_Focus_on_Improving_

    June 21, 2021 at 06:23 | Report abuse | Reply
  19. auctions near me

    Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely believe this website needs a lot more attention. Iíll probably be back again to see more, thanks for the information!

    http://www.studiomoriscoragni.com/stat2/link_logger.php?url=https://quotenearme.com

    June 21, 2021 at 06:48 | Report abuse | Reply
  20. movers near me yelp

    Thank you a lot for providing individuals with an extremely special possiblity to read in detail from this web site. It's usually very great and also full of amusement for me and my office co-workers to visit your website at a minimum thrice in a week to read the new stuff you will have. Of course, I'm usually motivated with your excellent strategies served by you. Some 1 points on this page are undoubtedly the most efficient we have ever had.

    https://www.posts123.com/post/2198482/ma-long-distance-movers-why-you-need-to-avoid-local-movers-for-your-moves

    June 21, 2021 at 06:57 | Report abuse | Reply
  21. get more

    I have been surfing online more than 2 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough for me. In my view, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be much more useful than ever before.

    https://diigo.com/0k6mfg

    June 21, 2021 at 07:31 | Report abuse | Reply
  22. sandwiches near me

    Very good article! We will be linking to this great post on our website. Keep up the great writing.

    http://enviroeconomicsconsultants.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=bulknearme.com

    June 21, 2021 at 07:44 | Report abuse | Reply
  23. Hosea Pritz

    May I use Wikipedia content in my blog without violating the copyright law?

    https://www.instagram.com/katekdesigns

    June 21, 2021 at 08:24 | Report abuse | Reply
  24. 창원출장마사지

    Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful post. Many thanks for supplying this info.

    http://zooboard.ru/user/profile/20894

    June 21, 2021 at 08:29 | Report abuse | Reply
  25. pharmaceptica

    chloroquina https://pharmaceptica.com/

    June 21, 2021 at 09:09 | Report abuse | Reply
  26. Zelda Jacobsen

    Hi there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and found that it is really informative. I am going to watch out for brussels. I’ll appreciate if you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing. Cheers!

    https://carelocal31ba.bravejournal.net/post/2021/06/08/Providing-compassionate-and-also-systematic-Boston-Mass-Residence-Care

    June 21, 2021 at 09:49 | Report abuse | Reply
  27. 먹튀검증

    Can I simply say what a relief to uncover somebody that really understands what they're talking about on the web. You definitely realize how to bring a problem to light and make it important. A lot more people need to look at this and understand this side of the story. I can't believe you are not more popular since you surely have the gift.

    https://www.yankee-bookmarkings.win/17-reasons-why-you-should-ignore-meogtwigeomjeung-28

    June 21, 2021 at 09:57 | Report abuse | Reply
  28. 먹튀검증

    I absolutely love your website.. Great colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself? Please reply back as Iím hoping to create my own personal website and would like to know where you got this from or what the theme is called. Many thanks!

    http://www.bbs.91tata.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=4075658

    June 21, 2021 at 10:07 | Report abuse | Reply
  29. Jerome

    Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Safari. I'm not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I'd post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue fixed soon. Kudos

    https://gemwear-chakras.com/doku.php?id=A_very_fascinating_internet_site_with_fantastic_articles!_v0r3f1l3

    June 21, 2021 at 10:18 | Report abuse | Reply
  30. 먹튀커뮤니티

    Great article! We are linking to this particularly great article on our site. Keep up the good writing.

    https://www.deltabookmarks.win/10-situations-when-you-ll-need-to-know-about-meogtwi

    June 21, 2021 at 10:22 | Report abuse | Reply
  31. 포항출장

    Pretty! This has been an incredibly wonderful post. Many thanks for providing this info.

    http://slaveregistry.com/master-slave-forum/member.php?action=profile&uid=66779

    June 21, 2021 at 10:35 | Report abuse | Reply
  32. gym near me

    http://www.littleluly.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=bestlocalnearme.com

    June 21, 2021 at 10:57 | Report abuse | Reply
  33. my sources

    I am sure this paragraph has touched all the internet users, its really really pleasant paragraph on building up new web site.|

    https://telegra.ph/Nordic-Track-Home-Treadmill-Reviews-What-You-Should-Seek-04-09

    June 21, 2021 at 11:15 | Report abuse | Reply
  34. Teagan

    I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to Dimepiece LA celebrity streetwear brand? I am having trouble to check out on Dimepiecela site. I've read in Teen Vogue that they were bought out by a UK hedge fund in excess of $50 m. I've just bought the Meditate Yoga Bag from Amazon and absolutely love it xox

    http://forums.indianscoop.net/User-bitcoinexchange1556

    June 21, 2021 at 11:35 | Report abuse | Reply
  35. gun dealers near me

    http://www.nanpuu.jp/feed2js/feed2js.php?src=//www.reviewnearme.com

    June 21, 2021 at 12:39 | Report abuse | Reply
  36. RV Engine Repair Near Me

    After looking over a number of the blog posts on your blog, I seriously appreciate your way of blogging. I added it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back in the near future. Take a look at my website too and tell me how you feel.

    http://intheatrenetwork.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvandtrucks.com

    June 21, 2021 at 14:58 | Report abuse | Reply
  37. 출장안마

    After I initially left a comment I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get 4 emails with the exact same comment. Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service? Kudos!

    https://massage4corielludc.shutterfly.com/35

    June 21, 2021 at 15:36 | Report abuse | Reply
  38. 먹튀검증

    I'd like to thank you for the efforts you have put in writing this site. I'm hoping to check out the same high-grade content from you later on as well. In fact, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own, personal site now 😉

    https://marvelcomics.faith/wiki/Issues_With_Gambling_Addiction

    June 21, 2021 at 15:49 | Report abuse | Reply
  39. RV Repair And Service Near Me

    http://eask3.net/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvpaintandservice.com

    June 21, 2021 at 16:37 | Report abuse | Reply
  40. pharmacepticacom

    sildenafil 20 mg tablet https://pharmaceptica.com/

    June 21, 2021 at 16:50 | Report abuse | Reply
  41. RV Repair Mission Viejo

    This is the perfect web site for everyone who hopes to find out about this topic. You understand so much its almost tough to argue with you (not that I really would want toÖHaHa). You definitely put a fresh spin on a topic that's been discussed for years. Great stuff, just wonderful!

    https://gnldr.online/tracker/click?redirect=http://ocrv.me/

    June 21, 2021 at 17:00 | Report abuse | Reply
  42. 토토사이트

    Very nice blog post. I definitely love this site. Stick with it!

    https://dokuwiki.stream/wiki/Study_Standard_Blackjack_Policies

    June 21, 2021 at 18:02 | Report abuse | Reply
  43. Jacquline Noell

    Greetings from California! I'm bored to death at work so I decided to browse your website on my iphone during lunch break. I love the information you present here and can't wait to take a look when I get home. I'm surprised at how quick your blog loaded on my mobile .. I'm not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, amazing blog!

    http://google.md/url?q=https://www.plurk.com/phukiendulich

    June 21, 2021 at 18:41 | Report abuse | Reply
  44. 케이출장

    Good web site you have here.. Itís hard to find high quality writing like yours these days. I honestly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!!

    https://price-matter.ru/user/casino5v8tdtin831

    June 21, 2021 at 19:41 | Report abuse | Reply
  45. additional reading

    I've been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It's pretty worth enough for me. Personally, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the net will be a lot more useful than ever before.

    https://www.vingle.net/posts/3809031

    June 21, 2021 at 19:42 | Report abuse | Reply
  46. 출장마사지

    After I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the exact same comment. Perhaps there is an easy method you are able to remove me from that service? Cheers!

    http://kdp-2.kz/user/casino9h8zealj503

    June 21, 2021 at 19:49 | Report abuse | Reply
  47. RV Mobile Repair Service Near Me

    Spot on with this write-up, I really believe that this web site needs much more attention. Iíll probably be back again to read more, thanks for the advice!

    http://www.advancedwatersystems.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvmotorsports.biz

    June 21, 2021 at 19:57 | Report abuse | Reply
  48. Sprinter Repair Shops Near Me

    Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you penning this post and also the rest of the website is extremely good.

    http://communityyardsale.org/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrvmotorsports.net

    June 21, 2021 at 20:10 | Report abuse | Reply
  49. RV Repair Shops Nearby

    http://10lowkey.us/UCH/link.php?url=https://ocrv.world

    June 21, 2021 at 21:17 | Report abuse | Reply
  50. Dodge Sprinter Repair Service

    Good article. I certainly appreciate this website. Continue the good work!

    https://www.verificaip.ro/redirect.php?link=https://ocrvfleetservices.com/

    June 21, 2021 at 21:50 | Report abuse | Reply
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57

Leave a Reply to RV Shades Orange County


 

CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not pre-screened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.

Advertisement
About this blog

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.