This guest blog was written by Yael Reich, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Diabetes Educator.
“I can never give up chocolate!” announces Anna P., who has been newly diagnosed with diabetes.
It’s a sentiment that many diabetes educators hear from patients and one that we are happy to say can be accommodated (having diabetes means eating certain foods in moderation, not cutting them out entirely). In fact, there are many myths that surround diabetes and part of our work as diabetes educators at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, is to dispel the myths and ensure that our patients live long and healthy lives. Here are some of the more common statements we hear from patients and how to approach them:
“Oh, diabetes… Everyone in my family has that. It’s no big deal.” But it is a big deal. If diabetes goes untreated, there are many debilitating complications including blindness, kidney disease, amputation and heart disease. These complications can lead to death.
“Now that I have diabetes, I can’t eat any of my favorite foods.” A healthy diet for a person with diabetes is the same as a healthy diet for anyone. You want to keep your diet low in fat, have moderate amounts of salt and sugar, and you want meals based on whole grains, vegetables and fruit. You can eat rice, potatoes, pasta, chocolate, cookies, etc. You just need to eat them in moderation – learn about portion sizes!
“At least I can eat all the fruit I want, since fruit is a healthy food!” While fruit is healthy, it’s also high in carbohydrates from natural sugar called fructose. While they should be in your meal plan, you should talk to your dietitian or diabetes educator about how much is considered a sensible portion size.
If you, or a loved one, has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, please learn about living with diabetes and find out how you can control the outcome of this disease.
Additionally, you can read more about the myths of diabetes on the American Diabetes Association website.