A few week's ago AOL's welcome screen picked up an article I wrote here about a cartoonist with type 1 diabetes. Two things happened. One, the article got a burst of comments -- 116.
Two, it confirmed how confused most people are about diabetes. About its symptoms, causes, about healthy eating and managing blood sugar. And most of the comments came from people who have diabetes.
So, I'm posting some of the comments, and below them I am indicating what is true and accurate. Since diabetes is a self-managed condition, you better know what you're dealing with so you can manage it. Further, you can't create the long, healthy and vital life you can have, if the rules of the road you're following are driving you straight into a ditch.
Comment: No type of diabetes, 1 or 2, is caused by obesity, please do your research before commenting. I know people that were of average weight when diagnosed with either one rather than obese individuals. Diabetes is and always has been an autoimmune disease.
Truth: Twenty percent, 1 in 5 people who get Type 2 diabetes, are not obese or even overweight. Yet, most are, and there's controversy whether being overweight is a cause of Type 2 diabetes or a result. Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance, which is believed to be influenced by genetics, being overweight and sedentary. As for the last statement, only type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where one's own cells attack the body's insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.
Comment: I am well aware of the complications of diabetes seeing as I am one. I have been told that diabetes is an autoimmune disease several times: However, the fact that Type 2 diabetes can be cured by a bypass operation indicates that that theory may not be correct.
Truth: Again, only Type 1 is an autoimmune condition. As for gastric bypass, many people with Type 2 diabetes who undergo a bypass operation are able to reduce or get off their medication. However, I believe that they are not considered "cured." Rather, the symptoms of diabetes have become dormant. Should they put on weight again, the symptoms can recur.
Comment: I have Type 1 and I would never wish to have Type 2! Just because you have Type 1 means you can't have sugar, but it also means you can't get overweight!
Truth: Neither statements here are completely true. Anyone with diabetes, Type 1 or Type 2, can have sugar. The same diet recommended for all Americans is recommended for people with diabetes and it may include sweets. However, if you're trying to eat a healthy diet and/or trying to lose weight, sweets are recommended sparingly. Second, having Type 1 diabetes does not mean you can't be or become overweight. Like anyone else, eat too many calories without burning them off and you will gain weight.
Comment: I feel sorry for those with Type 1 diabetes. I do not feel sorry for those (or most of those) with Type 2, because it was brought on by choice. Please keep in mind there is a big difference. Much like the difference between the few who cannot work and those who will not work.
Truth: Likely no one with Type 2 diabetes would say they chose to have it. While it seems implied here that Type 2s cause their disease by being overweight and sedentary, as you now know one can be slim and active and get Type 2 diabetes due to a strong genetic component.
Comment: Last research I did on Type 1 diabetics, [I read that there were] about 16 million in the U.S.
Truth: According to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, there are approximately 3 million people with Type 1 diabetes in the U.S.
Those are only a few of the many, many comments that were inaccurate. But I also want to share two more comments because they were spot on:
Comment: Diabetes isn't a death sentence, ignorance is. Learn about your condition and accept the fact that you had no choice in the matter. If you monitor your sugars, have regular check ups, follow a nutritionist's expertise and diet, and figure out what normal foods spike your blood sugars you too can live a long and healthy life.
Comment: I cannot believe some of the posts I have just read. I have had type 1 diabetes for the last 53 years and have gone through every emotion from anger to "why me." I have been very fortunate not to have any of the complications that can occur from this disease. I must thank my mother for keeping me healthy for all the years I lived at home. When I was found to have diabetes, I was 7 years old and will turn 60 in Oct. I gave birth to two beautiful daughters and have five grandchildren, all of whom are healthy ... I hope that someday there is a cure, but until then I will live my life to the fullest and not let diabetes win. I feel sorry for the people who think their lives are over because of being diagnosed with diabetes and become bitter and slaves to it. You have to take charge and decide how you want to live.
Here's your quiz, if you think:
Or, if you're just not sure whether what you know is true or not, I'm going to recommend a great book, my own which was written with 21 leading diabetes experts, "50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life and the 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It."
Don't go another day with your head in the sand; you can't have your best health until you know what you know is true. And don't miss out making sure now that you'll be here when they find a cure.
Riva is the author of "50 Diabetes Myths That Can Ruin Your Life and the 50 Diabetes Truths That Can Save It" and "The ABC's Of Loving Yourself With Diabetes." Visit her web site Diabetes Stories.com.
Follow Riva Greenberg on Twitter: www.twitter.com/diabetesmyths
As for eating carbs, the point is that you can. Many people think they can't eat sugar and it's just not true. The question of whether you choose to eat carbs or not, or how it affects managing your blood sugar, is your individual question to answer. Personally, I eat what would be considered a low carb diet and the majority of the carbs I eat come from vegetables and fruits.
One of the reasons there are so many myths about diabetes is it's a complex condition, it behaves somewhat differently in each of our bodies and there are a lot of metabolic processes that underlie the condition that are still being slowly understood. What's important, is to have the basic knowledge under your belt to do your best managing your blood sugar to prevent or delay complications.
This isn't a spitting match or who's right, it's about understanding the basic workings of diabetes, whichever type you have, so you can live your healthiest life.
In the United States today, if you are an adult with new-onset Type 1 diabetes, you most likely will be misdiagnosed as having Type 2 diabetes due to age not etiology, and you will be counted as a Type 2 diabetic in statistics.
Wow. That's a recipe for disaster for Type II's. Sure, those of us with insulin-resistance can eat whatever we want - it's our choice, but the results will be catastrophic.
Carbohydrate restriction (sugar in particular) is the best we to manage this condition. Carbohydrates all metabolize as glucose, which the insulin-resistant person cannot utilize as fuel because the cells are resistant to the action of insulin which allows the cell to take in glucose. Since fat does not require insulin to metabolize, it is the nutrient class that is optimal for us to consume. It is simply biochemistry and to ignore this is to prevent the Type IIs and those of us with insulin-resistance who have not yet "progressed" to Type II (and most will) from achieving normal blood sugar and insulin levels. Since high blood sugar and insulin levels are at the root of most diseases of civilization, this control is crucial for good health. 12 years of a very low-carb, high-fat diet have kept my levels very low despite a strong family history of "Type II Diabetes." Please stop telling us to eat sugar and the other components of the "American diet (properly called the SAD) that we can't tolerate: grains and starches.
Thank you for continuing to fight the myths.