Myths And Facts About Diabetes!

 1) Diabetes is curable :

Diabetes is  mainly due deficiency of Insulin (hormone produced by Beta cells of pancreas), plus resistance to action of insulin, overweightor obesity  and inactivity. Therefore, to treat diabetes we need drugs that initiate insulin secretion, reduce insulin resistance. In some cases  insulin itself. Plus dietary control and regular exercise to maintain normal weight or reduce excess weight. Hence it can only be effectively controlled. Cure is not possible.

2) Eating Sugar or Sweets causes Diabetes :

It is incorrect to say that eating sweets and / or sugar causes diabetes. Basically excess food intake will lead to excess production of glucose. That puts excess load on insulin producing cells in pancreas due glucotoxicity. Also due to central obesity  the fat around internal organs causes lipotoxicity affecting the beta cells. Therefore, excess food intake in general and weight gain  are the reasons for diabetes.

3) Jaggery is better or safe in diabetes :

Jaggery and sugar both are essentially same. Both contain sucrose, as they are prepared from sugar cane juice. Hence eating either of these will increase blood glucose considerably. In jaggery there are some vitamins and a few antioxidants. But both are bad for a diabetic person.

4) Rice should not be eaten in diabetes :

Not really true. Because in south India this is the major or at times only main food. Rice has a high glycemic index so gets converted to glucose rapidly. So polished rice is not good. Brown rice is better. Quantity should be regulated. All other cereals  also are converted  glucose after digestion. 

5)Allopathic Medications Damage Kidneys, so go for either Ayurvedic or Homeopathic Drugs :

In fact diabetes itself affects kidney, particularly the filtering membrane of glomerulurous  (a filtering unit in the kidney).   Even when diabetes fairly well controlled, kidney does get affected. The drugs used to treat diabetes  help in overcoming kidney damage. Therefore it is wrong to think that modern drugs cause kidney damage. In fact some of the other drugs contain heavy metals (Bhasmas), which can be harmful to the kidney.

6) Sugar intake is essential for body :

Some people keep asking that eating sugar is very necessary for getting energy for the body tissues. This is not at all true.  Because all the cereals like rice, jowar, wheat, ragi, bajra and other millets, contain starch as the main ingredient. Hence intake of each of these foods  provides glucose after digestion. So there is no separate need for taking sugar.

Few things to be remembered and practiced are :

• Always use whole grain flour, as it contains a good amount of biber content for making chapati or roti.
• Consume more of green leafy vegetables and salads with every meal.
• Consider fruits and green leafy vegetables as part of regular snacks
• Take small meals on more number of occasion to avoid glucose surge.
• Avoid Maida and foods made from it. It is probably worst kind of food that one can consume.
• Form healthy food habits.