Type 1 Diabetes: Myths vs. Facts
While there are many people in the Type 1 diabetes community that are working hard to spread awareness about this chronic disease, there are still a lot of misinformation or lack of understanding of type 1 diabetes. Here are some of the most common myths about this autoimmune disease.
Myth: Type 1 Diabetes happens because of an unhealthy lifestyle.
Fact: Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its insulin making beta cells in the pancreas. The cause is unknown but believed to be related to genetic and environmental triggers.
Myth: Only children are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.
Fact: Type 1 Diabetes can occur at any age. New research suggests that a third of people over the age of 30 who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes actually had type 1.
Link to the study: http://medicine.exeter.ac.uk/testgroup/research/diabetes/
Myth: Taking insulin is a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.
Fact: Insulin is not a cure; it is a necessary treatment to keep Type 1 diabetics alive. The pancreas stops making this essential hormone so synthetic human insulin has to be used instead.
Myth: People with diabetes should not have sugar.
Fact: with proper planning, carb counting, and correct insulin intake, people with diabetes can eat the same food people without diabetes eat.
Myth: Diet and exercise can cure type 1 diabetes.
Fact: while healthy habits are useful for the management of type 1 diabetes, as of today, there is no cure. People with Type 1 Diabetes rely on insulin for life.
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