Tips to Be Fit: The truth about diabetes myths

Diabetes is listed as the fifth deadliest disease in the United States. The total annual economic impact of diabetes in 2018 was estimated at $148 billion. That is one out of every eight health care dollars spent in the United States.

There are about 18.2 million people in the United States, or 6.3% of the population, who have diabetes. An estimated 13 million have been diagnosed with diabetes, but 5.2 million people don’t know that they have the disease. Approximately 2.7 million or 11.4% of all African Americans age 20 years or older have diabetes. Twenty-five percent of African Americans between the ages of 65 and 74 have diabetes. One in four African-American women over 55 years of age has diabetes. One-third of all African Americans don’t know it. Some of the most life-threatening consequences of diabetes are heart disease and stroke, which strike people with diabetes more than twice as often as they do others. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates 2 to 4 times higher than those without diabetes. African Americans with diabetes have an increased risk for heart disease, stroke and other macrovascular complications. Complications of diabetes can also include blindness, kidney disease and amputations.

A few myths:

Myth #1: Diabetes is not that serious of a disease.

Fact: Diabetes causes more deaths a year than breast cancer and AIDS combined. Having diabetes doubles your chance of having a heart attack or a stroke. Controlling your diabetes can reduce your risks for diabetes complications.

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

Fact: Excess weight is a risk factor for developing diabetes, but other risk factors such as family history, ethnicity and age also play a role. Unfortunately, too many people disregard the other risk factors for diabetes and think that weight is the only risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Most overweight people never develop type 2 diabetes and many people with type 2 diabetes are at a normal weight or only moderately overweight.

Myth #3: If you have diabetes, you should only eat small amounts of starchy foods, such as bread, potatoes and pasta.

Fact: Starchy foods, which are carbohydrates, can be part of a healthy meal plan, but the right portion size is key. Whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, rice and vegetables like potatoes, yams, peas and corn can be included in your meals and snacks. In addition to these starchy foods, fruits, beans, milk, yogurt and sweets are also sources of carbohydrate that you need to count in your meal plan.

Myth #4: People with diabetes can’t eat sweets or chocolate.

Fact: people with diabetes can eat sweets and chocolate. They don’t have to be “off limits” to people with. You should have small portions when consuming sweets or chocolate.

Myth #5: You can catch diabetes from someone else.

Fact: No one knows exactly why we develop diabetes, we know diabetes is not contagious. There is a genetic link in diabetes.

Myth #6: People with diabetes need a special diabetic diet.

Fact: A healthy meal plan for people with diabetes is the same as a healthy diet for anyone. Diabetic and “dietetic” foods offer no special benefit.

While there is no cure for diabetes, it can be controlled. Most type 2 diabetes con not only be controlled, it can be prevented and reversed. There are a number of areas that are under your control. These control factors include nutrition, fitness, sleep, stress, medical care, smoking and your environment. Educating yourself about diabetes and your control factors are necessary to better control your diabetes.

… Smokers should stop smoking. Twelve hundred Americans died yesterday and another 1,200 will die today from smoke related illnesses. You’ve seen the AD on TV “There are no safe levels for cigarettes.” Smoking will raise your risk for diabetes.

… Limit your exposure to secondhand smoke. ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) contains over 4,000 chemical compounds. More than 60 of these are known to cause cancer. Some of the toxins or irritants in secondhand smoke include carbon monoxide, nicotine, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide. Carcinogens in ETS include benzene, aromatic amines (especially carcinogens such as 2-naphthylamine and 4-aminobiphenyl), vinyl chloride, arsenic, nitrosamines and cadmium. The greater your exposure to ETS, the greater your level of these harmful compounds in your body. Secondhand smoke is the third leading preventable cause of death nationally.

… Overweight people should exercise. You need to exercise 30 minutes or more every day. Most people don’t exercise enough and when they do, they don’t exercise hard enough. You need to challenge yourself every day. Exercising has been proven to reduce your risk for diabetes.

… Get eight hours of sleep every night. If you get the right amount of sleep you will get the most out of your fitness program. If you don’t get enough sleep, your muscles will work less efficiently and you’ll stop making progress in your fitness program. Get less sleep than what you need and you’ll find yourself stressed more often and you’ll get sick more often. Lack of sleep is also a risk factor for diabetes. To find out what you need keep a diary of your sleeping habits. Record the time you go to bed, the time you wake up, the total hours you sleep, your mental and physical state during the day; any naps and what you ate or drank before bed. After a few weeks, review your diary. You should be able to get good idea of what helps or hinders you from getting the sleep you need.

… Reduce stress and develop good coping skills. Other ways of dealing with stress include changing or improving personal character traits. These can include behavior changes such as assertiveness training, self-esteem enhancement, being flexible, improving organizational skills and time management.

Remember, diabetes has no cure but it can be controlled and in some cases prevented.