More than 29 million Americans have diabetes, so there’s a strong possibility that your parent, sibling, kid, coworker, friend, neighbor, or someone else you know has the disease. Despite the fact that diabetes is common, there are definitely a few startling facts you are unaware of.
FACTS ABOUT DIABETES YOU SHOULD KNOW
These facts includes the following;
1. Consuming Excessive Amounts of Sugar is not Enough to Develop Diabetes.
Consuming too much sugar is not the primary cause of diabetes, but a diet high in processed foods, drink, and sugary foods does raise your risk for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other disorders. You might not realize how complicated the relationship is between sugary meals and diabetes.
The most prevalent kind of diabetes, type 2, develops when your body doesn’t respond to how much insulin it generates. Your body eventually runs out of the hormone insulin needed to keep blood sugar levels within normal range.
Obesity, being overweight, or having a family history of diabetes are the primary risk factors for this form of diabetes. However, consuming a lot of sugar indirectly increases your chance of developing diabetes by causing weight gain and an increase in body fat.
The following techniques are frequently used to treat type 2 diabetes:
- Diet
- Exercise
- Medication, either oral or injectable, including insulin
People frequently receive their initial “prediabetes” diagnosis. This indicates that individuals
have a very high chance of getting type 2 diabetes. An autoimmune condition called type 1 diabetes often strikes adolescents or teenagers. Because the pancreas cannot produce insulin, because since the body lacks insulin, glucose cannot enter the cells where it is needed for energy, staying in the blood instead.
The onset of Type 1 diabetes may be influenced by a family history of the disease. Sugar does not cause
Type 1 diabetes, but individuals with the condition still need to watch their sugar intake.
You’ll probably need these things to manage Type 1 diabetes
- A daily dose of insulin
- Meticulous carbohydrate tracking
- Organizing your meals and exercise to control your blood sugar levels.
2. People with Diabetes can Enjoy Eating Sweets
Desserts and sweets are OK, however it might be necessary to do some preparations if you want to have any birthday cake. It is a fallacy that individuals with diabetes can never eat sugar, but consuming foods containing sugar does need mindfulness and meal preparation, according to endocrinologist Jyothi Gogineni, MD, of Northwestern Medicine.
The carbs in cookies and other sweets raise your blood sugar levels. Counting carbs with every meal is essential to preserving healthy blood glucose levels. It also aids diabetics in calculating their insulin dosage.
A small amount of a high-sugar item can be swapped for other carbs when eaten as part of a meal, such as forgoing an extra slice of bread or consuming less pasta, rice, or potatoes. It’s also crucial to keep in mind that a product does not always contain no carbohydrates if you substitute actual sugar for sweeteners or select “sugar-free” options.
These meals could include, sugar, alcohols, which raise blood sugar levels and have laxative effects. According to Dr. Gogineni, reading food labels is a crucial skill for meal planning and carbohydrate tracking.
Beer, wine, and cocktails can all be quite high in carbohydrates. Although these drinks can be
consumed in moderation, they must be taken into consideration when planning meals because
alcohol can either boost or drop blood sugar levels. Dr. Gogineni advises seeking advice and
counseling from your diabetes educator or doctor.
3. Having Gestational Diabetes Does not Mean your Baby will Have It Too
Gestational diabetes will occur in around 9% of pregnant women who become insulin resistant.
You can still acquire gestational diabetes during your pregnancy even if you’ve never had the
disease before.
Your pancreas may not be producing enough insulin, despite its best efforts. If you have gestational diabetes, neither you nor your child are to blame. And it’s not a guarantee that your child will get diabetes. To control your diabetes, you should nonetheless collaborate with your obstetrician, endocrinologist, or diabetes educator.
The pancreas in your kid might generate more insulin as a result of high blood sugar. This might increase your baby’s chance of later developing obesity and Type 2 diabetes as well as respiratory issues, low blood sugar, and high birth weight.
4. Diabetes can be One Emotional Health condition
Diabetes patients frequently experience anger, depression, or anxiety. After all, having to test
your blood sugar frequently throughout the day, keep track of your diet, and administer insulin
injections to oneself or take medicine daily can be difficult.
When your blood glucose level isn’t where you’d like it to be, it’s especially easy to feel different, reject that you have diabetes, and feel out of control. Try to be upfront and honest with others around you about how you are feeling.
If you notice someone with diabetes going through any of these emotions, keep in mind that these are normal feelings that might get in the way of practicing appropriate self-care. Be cautious by acquiring as much knowledge as you can to enable you to provide.
5. Having Diabetes can come with a Lot of Lifestyle Changes.
Diabetes patients frequently experience anger, depression, or anxiety. After all, having to test your blood sugar frequently throughout the day, keep track of your diet, and administer insulin injections to oneself or take medicine daily can be difficult.
When your blood glucose level isn’t where you’d like it to be, it’s especially easy to feel different, reject that you have diabetes, and feel out of control. Try to be upfront and honest with others around you about how you are feeling.
If you notice someone with diabetes going through any of these emotions, keep in mind that these are normal feelings that might get in the way of practicing appropriate self-care. Be cautious by acquiring as much knowledge as you can to enable you to provide.