There's a surprising amount of misinformation circulating about diabetes, a disease affecting nearly 26 million people in the United States.
To bust some myths, The Ledger spoke with Janet Armitage, a registered dietitian with the Polk County School Board Wellness Program, and Dr. Mary Quillinan, a Clark & Daughtrey Medical Group internal medicine doctor with a keen interest in educating patients about diabetes.
Here's some of what we learned:
Myth 1: Sweet tooth
If you have a sweet tooth, you're going to get diabetes because too many sweets cause it. Or, if you have diabetes, you can't eat sweets.
Reality: No, they don't and yes, you can. Diabetes occurs when your body either isn't making insulin or isn't making enough. If you are careful, you can eat small quantities of sweets. More importantly, realize carbohydrates in many forms (think pasta and breads, too) can raise blood sugar. So can some medications.
“A lot of people have told me over the years “But Dr. Quillinan, I didn't eat any candy.'” Quillinan said. “But they ate a whole box of macaroni, and carbs do count.”
Myth 2: Insulin
If you're on insulin for diabetes, you've “failed” because you didn't control your blood sugar with diet and exercise.
Reality: “There are a lot of excellent insulins now,” Armitage said. “A lot of doctors will start diabetics on it right away. It could help them get in control a lot faster.”
People with type 1 diabetes are making little or no insulin, so they will need to get insulin.
Myth 3: Diet
It's all about diet.
Reality: Even more than diet, Armitage said, it's exercise. “You really have to move. It gets the sugar out of your cells and into the bloodstream to give you energy in different parts of your body.”
Myth 4: Blood sugar
All you have to worry about is your blood sugar being too high.
Reality: You also need to make sure it doesn't get too low. That's a condition called hypoglycemia. It can occur if, for example, you exercise while your medicine or insulin is working at maximum performance to lower glucose (blood sugar). The combined impact of exercise and medication could make your blood glucose too low. Check your blood sugar before and after exercising.
Myth 5: Weight
I'm not overweight so I can't have diabetes.
Reality: Other things can raise blood sugar, including kidney failure, surgery, chemotherapy and hormonal problems (including being pregnant).
Myth 6: Fruit and pasta
I'll have to give up fruit and pasta because I have diabetes.
Reality: It's a matter of measuring what you eat and keeping the appropriate balance among protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits and so forth. You should eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables daily. You can have pasta in moderation.
Myth 7: Skipping meals
It's OK to skip a meal to lose weight.
Reality: People who are overweight should lose weight, but skipping a meal is the wrong way to do it. It gets your blood sugar out of whack, and the level could go up or down. You should eat meals about the same time each day and eat about the same amount at every meal.
Myth 8: Sugar free
It's sugar free so I can eat as much as I want.
Reality: Wrong. Sugar-free items still have calories and may include carbohydrates. Some sugar-free items have a laxative effect because your body has trouble digesting them.
Myth 9: Symptoms
I don't have any symptoms. I feel great. I must not have diabetes.
Reality: Many people have diabetes or pre-diabetes without having symptoms. But some symptoms are a warning sign of diabetes. An estimated 79 million people in the U.S. have pre-diabetes, triple the 25.8 million with diabetes, making them a diabetes nightmare waiting to happen.
Sources: Information from Armitage and Quillinan, as well as the American Diabetes Association. One of the books it recommends is “16 Myths of a Diabetic Diet” by registered dietitians Karen Hanson Chalmers and Amy Peterson Campbell. Visit the ADA Website atwww.diabetes.org for more information. 
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