Nine common misunderstandings about diabetes prevention and treatment

Diabetic patients often have the following ten common misconceptions? Everyone, please check if you have any of these misconceptions.

Cognitive misunderstanding 1: Diabetic patients should eat less staple food and drink more porridge, right?

Cognitive misunderstanding 2: Hypoglycemia only occurs when there are symptoms, right?

Cognitive misunderstanding three: Insulin injections will cause dependence, and the later you use it, the better, right?

Myth 4: Diabetic patients can exercise on an empty stomach, and the earlier they get up in the morning, the better

Cognitive misunderstanding 5: The thinner a diabetic person is, the better, right?

Cognitive misunderstanding 6: If you have diabetes, you will not have a good quality of life, right?

Cognitive misunderstanding seven: Blood sugar can be tested based on feeling, right?

Cognitive Misconception 8: Complications of diabetes are all exaggerated, right?

Cognitive misunderstanding nine: It’s okay if you just find that your blood sugar is a little high, you don’t need to see a doctor, right?

Cognitive misunderstanding 10: Folk remedies can cure diabetes, right?

Ten questions and answers about misunderstandings about diabetes:

Cognitive misunderstanding 1: Diabetic patients should eat less staple food and drink more porridge, right?

Dr. Wu Shengli:

If you have diabetes, you should eat less or no staple food. Eating staple food will increase blood sugar. It is wrong to drink porridge, porridge, noodle soup when you are hungry. The three meals of diabetic patients should calculate the total daily calories according to their own weight and labor intensity, and then combine the diet pagoda to distribute the three meals and staple food protein and other things. Among them, staple food is the basis and is indispensable for the three meals. Porridge, porridge, and noodle soup are processed too finely and are easy to absorb, so they raise blood sugar quickly, so they should be avoided. , You can change to milk, soy milk, and vegetable soup instead, but 50-100 grams of staple food per meal cannot be less.

Cognitive misunderstanding 2: Hypoglycemia only occurs when there are symptoms, right?

Dr. Wu Shengli:

Hypoglycemia is fatal for diabetics. Common symptoms of hypoglycemia include palpitations, tremors, hunger, and even blurred vision, but not all hypoglycemia will have symptoms. In addition to the symptoms you just mentioned, there is also asymptomatic hypoglycemia, which is manifested as apathy, pale complexion, fatigue, slow reaction, or even no symptoms. It can only be discovered after blood sugar testing. Therefore, we recommend that patients with large blood sugar fluctuations must test frequently, and should not relax before going to bed or at night. If necessary, dynamic blood sugar testing should be performed to avoid severe hypoglycemia.

Cognitive misunderstanding three: Insulin injections will cause dependence, and the later you use it, the better, right?

Dr. Wu Shengli:

As the course of diabetes prolongs, the islet function becomes worse and worse, and blood sugar becomes more and more difficult to control. At this time, insulin injections may be needed. Many patients believe that insulin injections will cause dependence, so they have always adhered to the concept of "don't inject if you can, the later the better". This is wrong. The doctor's use of insulin to treat diabetes is determined by the patient's condition. Timely use of insulin when blood sugar remains high can avoid damage to important organs of the body caused by high blood sugar. At the same time, it talks about the toxic effects of high sugar. After a period of insulin, some patients' islet function has recovered to a certain extent, and blood sugar has stabilized. At this time, insulin can be reduced or even discontinued, which is completely different from dependence.

Myth 4: Diabetic patients can exercise on an empty stomach, and the earlier they get up in the morning, the better

Dr. Wu Shengli:

We usually recommend that diabetics exercise more, as exercise can lower blood sugar. However, some diabetics are used to skipping meals in the morning and going out for a run or ball game before dawn, and then eating after exercise. This is wrong. It is dangerous for diabetics to exercise on an empty stomach, which can easily lead to hypoglycemia. It is recommended to exercise 1-2 hours after a meal, which is more effective in controlling blood sugar after a meal.

Cognitive misunderstanding 5: The thinner a diabetic person is, the better, right?

Doctor Wu Shengli: It is true that obesity is one of the risk factors for diabetes, and there are more fat people than thin people with diabetes. Therefore, it is important for diabetic patients to control their weight. However, it is also wrong to control diet too much, which will lead to malnutrition and reduced resistance. It is enough to lose weight to reach the standard weight or lose 5-7% of the original weight.

Cognitive misunderstanding 6: If you have diabetes, you will not have a good quality of life, right?

Doctor Wu Shengli: Oh! If you have diabetes, you will have a bad life. You can't eat this or that. There will be many serious diseases waiting for you. What's the point of living? This is also the inner reflection of many diabetics. As long as diabetics have a scientific diet and follow the doctor's advice for treatment, their life expectancy can be comparable to that of normal people.

Cognitive misunderstanding seven: Blood sugar can be tested based on feeling, right?

Dr. Wu Shengli: Diabetic patients need to monitor their blood sugar regularly, but some patients are afraid that it is painful, troublesome, and a waste of money to measure blood sugar, so they think that they only need to measure blood sugar once when they feel uncomfortable. This is wrong. This is why people find that their blood sugar is as high as 20 and they don’t react at all, or they suddenly get seriously ill and find out that their blood sugar is not under control at all. It’s too late to regret! Blood sugar monitoring is to understand the blood sugar control situation and prevent complications. It is also the basis for doctors to observe the effects of medication and life management and adjust treatment plans. Therefore, blood sugar monitoring is the barometer of our health!

Cognitive Misconception 8: Complications of diabetes are all exaggerated, right?

Dr. Wu Shengli: Some patients do not believe that diabetes can cause blindness, foot ulcers, kidney dialysis, high blood pressure, cerebral infarction, and heart disease, and think that these are all alarmist statements by doctors. The fact is that diabetes has become one of the most important factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, kidney diseases, and blindness, so take care of yourself!

Cognitive misunderstanding nine: It’s okay if you just find that your blood sugar is a little high, you don’t need to see a doctor, right?

Question 9: During a physical examination or doctor’s visit, I found that my blood sugar level is a little high, but I don’t feel any discomfort. I think it’s okay and I don’t need to see a doctor, right?

Dr. Wu Shengli: In the early stages of diabetes, high blood sugar levels are often detected after meals, which is not easy to detect. If your fasting blood sugar level is higher than the normal value of 6.1, it means that your postprandial blood sugar level may also be high. At this time, you must go to a specialist for further diagnosis and treatment. Early detection and early intervention will greatly contribute to our future quality of life. I wish you good health!