Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that we often find all around us.
One of the factors that has led to an increase in the number of people with diabetes is that people have easy access to sweet foods and drinks.
Diabetes can lead to complications, including heart attacks and strokes, serious foot infections (causing gangrene, can lead to amputation), end-stage renal failure, and sexual dysfunction.
To prevent diabetes, we may need to know all about this chronic disease, including the myths and facts.
Myths about diabetes mellitus
Adapted from Health shots And P2PTM Ministry of Healthhere are 5 myths about type 2 diabetes or diabetes mellitus along with the facts:
Myth 1: Eat small portions but often
Diabetics may have heard that to keep their blood sugar in balance, they need to eat small but frequent meals.
This assumption turned out to be incorrect. Indeed, people with diabetes should eat 2-3 times a day according to the schedule
in a specified time window.
Planned meals have been shown to be an effective way to increase insulin sensitivity and counteract biochemicals that make diabetes worse.
For example, diabetics can eat regularly between 10:00 and 19:00. Meanwhile, outside this time window, diabetic patients should stop eating any food.
However, this diet only applies to diabetics using oral medications, not injecting insulin.
Myth 2: Type 2 diabetes cannot be cured
Some people think that type 2 diabetes or diabetes mellitus is completely incurable and causes them not to be able to live normally.
In fact, type 2 diabetes can be treated by maintaining blood sugar levels, through:
Medical treatment or drugs
Lifestyle changes, such as maintaining a diet, exercising regularly, fasting, and having bariatric surgery.
Myth 3: Diabetes is a progressive disease
The myth that develops in society is that diabetes is a progressive disease or that it can develop into serious conditions, such as kidney failure, glaucoma and cataracts.
True, this complication can attack some people with diabetes mellitus.
However, it is important to note that these complications usually occur due to patients not controlling their blood sugar or the side effects of certain medications.
Myth 4: Sugar-free foods are good for diabetics
Diabetes sufferers really need to limit their intake of sugar or sweet foods. However, foods labeled “sugar-free” are not necessarily safe for consumption by diabetic patients.
In fact, sugar-free foods often contain a quantity of calories and carbohydrates that are dangerous even for diabetic patients because they can trigger glycemic spikes.
Myth 5: Diabetes in pregnant women is not a serious condition and improves soon after delivery
Diabetes can attack pregnant women. This condition is called gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes can be triggered by consuming sweet foods and drinks during pregnancy.
Expectant mothers may think that gestational diabetes will disappear after giving birth. In fact, according to the Ministry of Health, 50-70 percent of pregnant women with gestational diabetes are at risk of developing diabetes mellitus 5-10 years after giving birth.
If diabetes is not treated, babies born to mothers who had diabetes during pregnancy are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes in adulthood.
Knowing the myths and facts about diabetes mellitus can help us be more aware of this chronic disease.
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