10 Things That You May Have Heard About Diabetes (that aren’t true)

Posted on February 7, 2014 by DiabetesDigest.com Staff in Diabetes Basics

  1. Although you inherit diabetes, it skips a generation.Not everyone who gets diabetes inherits it. You may have no relatives with diabetes or several. Also, diabetes doesn’t skip a generation, nor are you more likely to get it from either your mother or father. Both your genes and your lifestyle contribute to your risk for diabetes. And, it doesn’t come from eating too much sugar.
  2. People with diabetes shouldn’t eat carrots because they are high in sugar.
    Like all vegetables, carrots are carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are part of a healthy diet and help give you the energy, vitamins and minerals your body needs to function. All carbohydrates affect your blood sugar the same amount, whether you are getting the same amount of carbohydrate in bread, pasta, sugar or vegetables. Three cups of uncooked and 1 and 1/2 cup of cooked carrots will raise your blood sugar the same amount as 1 slice of bread. And just to clear up another myth, people with diabetes can eat sugar as part of their meal plan.
  3. I don’t have to worry, I just have borderline diabetes.
    There really is no such thing as borderline diabetes. You either have diabetes, pre-diabetes, or no diabetes. Fasting blood sugar readings of greater than 126 mg/dl or more than one occasion are considered diabetes. A fasting blood sugar of 110-125 mg/dl on more than one occasion is considered pre-diabetes. Pre-diabetes is a strong risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes.
  4. There is nothing you can do to keep from getting diabetes.
    We have learned recently that you can prevent diabetes at any age. In fact, losing a modest amount of weight (5-10% of your total weight), being moderately active (by walking or doing other forms of exercise for 150 minutes per week) can delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes.
  5. You should never use herbal or natural remedies when you have diabetes.
    The most natural of remedies is eating a healthy diet and exercise. Medically-proven diabetes information shows that both meal planning and activity help to lower your blood sugar levels. Combining your prescribed medicines with a meal plan and physical activity gives you the most for your money. It is true that some herbal or other products can work against your diabetes medicines, may raise your blood sugar or may even be dangerous. Ask your pharmacist or health care provider if any of your medicines or health problems are affected by the herbal or vitamin products you take.
  6. Insulin causes complications, such as amputations, impotence or even death.
    Some people who take insulin develop complications from diabetes, but the complications aren’t caused by insulin. Keeping your blood sugar near the normal range by using a pills or insulin helps you to live a long and healthy life. Also many people believe that once you start taking insulin, you can never stop. While this used to be true, the insulin that is on the market today is better than in the past.
  7. You can’t get off of insulin.
    Some people with type 2 diabetes are able to stop taking insulin if they lose weight, start exercising or if the physical or emotional stress that raised their blood sugar is better.
  8. It’s a good idea for people with diabetes to soak their feet in vinegar every day.
    Many years ago, people with diabetes were told to soak their feet every day. We know now that soaking with water, vinegar and other products can make your skin dry – which can cause cracks in the skin where bacteria can enter.
  9. I feel fine as long as my blood sugar is less than 250.
    Isn’t that “normal” for me? Not really. Your usual blood sugar isn’t the same as normal blood sugar. Just because your blood sugar is usually high or you don’t notice any symptoms, does not mean that your body is not being affected by those levels.
  10. I don’t have to worry about my children getting diabetes until they are adults.
    Sadly, more and more young people are getting type 2 diabetes. It is caused from a combination of being overweight, getting less exercise and heredity. You can help your children and grandchildren prevent diabetes by encouraging them to keep active and stay at a reasonable weight.

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailAdvances In Diabetes Care Default ThumbnailBlood Glucose and Insulin How You Can Help Prevent Type 2 Diabetes Default ThumbnailType 2 Diabetes Default ThumbnailNatural Progression of Type 2 Diabetes Default ThumbnailDiabetes Induced Dry Eye Default ThumbnailLiving With Hypoglycemia and Type 2 Diabetes Default ThumbnailWhat is diabetes? Diabetes Quiz Default ThumbnailStaying Healthy with Diabetes Includes A1C (HbA1c) Testing What to Tell Family and Friends about Getting Checked for Diabetes Insulin: What’s New? Dietitians can Help you Meet your A1C GoalsDietitians can Help you Meet your A1C Goals

(c) Copyright 2008-2015 OmniChannel Health Media. All rights reserved.

  • Register For This Twitter Chat Series

    When you register, we will send you timely reminders about upcoming Twitter chats via email.

    Simply enter your email address below and click on the "Register Me" button.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Constance Brown-Riggs, MSEd, RD, CDE, CDN—an award-winning RD, certified diabetes educator, and past national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is the author of The African American Guide to Living Well With Diabetes, which received the Favorably Reviewed designation from the American Association of Diabetes Educators, and Eating Soulfully and Healthfully with Diabetes.

Dr. Lori Shemek, PhD, CNC, CLC, the best-selling author of “Fire-Up Your Fat Burn! and leading health and weight loss expert, is also known as “The Inflammation Terminator.” She has made it her mission to educate the public on the toxic effects of certain foods and lifestyle choices and how they create inflammation in the body. She is a leading authority on inflammation and its role in weight loss, preventing disease and optimizing health.

Rebecca Bitzer – MS, RD/LD, CEDRD is an award-winning Registered Dietitian, writer, speaker, blogger, and REBEL Dietitian business owner. Rebecca and her team of six Registered Dietitians have counseled thousands of clients struggling with diabetes for over twenty-five years. They work closely with each other along with internists, endocrinologists, therapists, and families.

Maureen Sullivan – RN, CDE has worked for many years as a Registered Nurse, most of them in emergency and trauma services. She is a Certified Emergency Nurse, Certified Diabetes Educator, and the former manager of a hospital stroke program. Maureen’s wealth of knowledge, passion for nursing and education, and ability to engage people makes her an excellent teacher and a captivating lecturer. Recently, Maureen has been concentrating on writing, speaking and teaching, as well as working on her award-winning weekly podcast, “The Health and Humor Show.”

Lauren Harris-Pincus, MS, RDN is a nutrition communications specialist, registered dietitian in private practice, social media consultant, speaker, spokesperson and corporate consultant. She is currently the owner of Nutrition Starring YOU, LLC and www.NutritionStarringYOU.com. Lauren strongly believes that we should “Think Healthy, not Skinny”, and “EveryBODY is unique, your diet should be too”. Lauren was co-host of the Family Food Experts Kitchen radio show, available for listening on iHeart Radio and iTunes. Also known as one of the “NutritionBabes”, Lauren co-founded NutritionBabes.com, a popular Health and Wellness website in 2009. NutritionBabes.com was voted one of Healthline’s Top 100 Health Blogs in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Mark Heyman, PhD, CDE is a clinical health psychologist and the director of the Center for Diabetes and Mental Health (CDMH). In addition to treating patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, Dr. Heyman provides training for health care providers on how to identify and address the emotional and behavioral aspects of diabetes in their patients. He also works with pharmaceutical and medical device companies to help them understand these issues and incorporate this information into their sales, marketing, and patient education materials. He is particularly interested in empirically supported behavioral interventions that promote behavior change and improve physical and mental health in people with diabetes.

Katie Ferraro, MPH, RD, CDE is a nationally-recognized registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and author with an expertise in nutrition communications and curriculum development. She is the co-author of “Diet Therapy in Advanced Practice Nursing” (McGraw Hill, 2014) and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Nutrition at the University of California San Francisco and University of San Diego’s graduate schools of nursing.

Dr. Beverly S. Adler, PhD, CDE (aka “Dr. Bev”) is a clinical psychologist and certified diabetes educator, author and speaker. She specializes treating the emotional issues of people with diabetes. In her private practice, she provides individual, family and/or group therapy utilizing a cognitive behavior therapy orientation, combined with a spiritual approach. Her goal is to empower her patients to manage their diabetes.

Dr. Bev is the author of two self-help diabetes books. She has written numerous articles which are published in print and online – always focused on diabetes from the emotional perspective. She also speaks to audiences of people living with diabetes, as well as, to audiences of healthcare professionals and diabetes educators. Dr. Bev, herself, has been living successfully with type 1 diabetes for 40+ years.

In August 2016, Dr. Bev was honored to receive the “CDE Entrepreneur of the Year” Award from her Metropolitan NY Association of Diabetes Educators.

Jill Weisenberger, MS, RDN, CDE, FAND is an internationally recognized nutrition and diabetes expert with more than two decades experience. Through writing, speaking and one-on-one coaching, Jill empowers people to grab control of their health. She has worked as both a nutrition counselor and a diabetes educator in the hospital and research settings, and now in private practice in Newport News, VA. Jill is known for her practical approach and caring attitude. Her no-nonsense strategies to eating well include foods that both taste good and are good for you.

Marlene Koch (pronounced ‘cook’) is a nationally recognized nutritionist, popular TV personality and New York Times bestselling author. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from UCLA with a Bachelor’s degree in Nutritional Science. She is a registered dietitian and one of a select group of dietitians to hold an advanced certificate in Child and Adolescent Weight Management from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.

Marlene has taught professional chefs from the American Culinary Federation the principles of healthy cooking and eating. She has been adjunct Nutrition professor and cooking instructor for Columbus State College and the Columbus State Culinary Academy, and she is a nationally recognized expert in weight loss, diabetes, child and adolescent nutrition, and sugar substitutes.

Marlene has sold over one million cookbooks, and is a regular guest on QVC.

Barbara Ruhs – MS, RDN is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and owner of Neighborhood Nutrition LLC, a consulting firm focused on providing solutions to help food companies and supermarkets improve consumer health & wellness. She’s a former supermarket dietitian and has run a successful business for 17 years. A leader in the field of nutrition, her mission is to help people by impacting the way food is produced, marketed and sold. She’s a strong advocate for supermarket dietitians and believes the retail food industry has the greatest potential to impact public health.

Cheryl Orlansky has over 25 years of experience in health promotion and chronic disease prevention and management. Her first career as a registered dental hygienist led her towards a path of wellness and nutrition! Her expertise is in diabetes, weight management and cardiovascular disease for individuals and groups. She works in a large private practice including endocrinology, internal medicine, rheumatology, neurology and sleep medicine. She is an award winning dietitian with current leadership positions in state and local dietetics organizations.

She has been interviewed and quoted in media outlets for WebMD, Atlanta Sports and Fitness, Georgia Public Broadcasting, and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. She has partnered with V-103 Radio to lead supermarket tours as part of a community outreach during National Nutrition Month.

Cheryl helps her clients reach balance through lifestyle choices: cooking and eating, activity and purpose in life.

Jackie Newgent, RDN, CDN, is a registered dietitian nutritionist and classically-trained chef. With a passion for helping people (including her father) with diabetes, she’s author of The With or Without Meat Cookbook: The Flexible Approach to Flavorful Diabetes Cooking and the award-winning The All‐Natural Diabetes Cookbook, both published by the American Diabetes Association. Jackie is also author of 1,000 Low-Calorie Recipes and Big Green Cookbook. Her next book, The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook—2nd Edition, was published in 2015.

Nutritionist Rania Batayneh, MPH is the author of the best-selling book, The One One One Diet. She holds a master’s degree in public health nutrition from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and is also a Wellcoaches Certified Health and Wellness Coach endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

OmnichannelHealth Media, publisher of DiabetesDigest.com, does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See additional information.