Once a person has diabetes, he or she will live with the disease for the rest of his or her life, and the quality of life will be seriously impaired. To date, the medical community has not found a cure for diabetes. Patients’ desire to get rid of the disease is so urgent that it provides an opportunity for certain companies to take advantage of it.
Turn on the TV, open the newspaper, filled with a variety of sugar-lowering products: sugar reduction capsules, sugar reduction punch, sugar reduction spirit, sugar reduction oral liquid, sugar reduction pure Chinese medicine preparation …… in a variety of ways. Some of their advertisements say that patients can get rid of the trouble of taking medication for life; some say that patients can eat whenever they want, and so on, one by one, which is very tempting to diabetics. Do these products actually work? This kind of advertisement is not credible in the end? A few days ago, the reporter interviewed Professor Qian Rongli, honorary chairman of the Chinese Medical Association Diabetes Branch, and Professor Xiang Hongding, deputy chairman of the association.
”When we see such advertisements, we, who have been engaged in diabetes treatment and research for many years, are very angry and worried. If patients listen to the advertisements, not only do they lose money, but they may also delay their disease or even greatly shorten their life span.” The two experts earnestly told the reporter that at present, the market is mixed with sugar-lowering products, although some of them are indeed helpful to diabetic patients, but many of the so-called sugar-lowering products can survive by false propaganda. Two experts analyzed that there are four main ways to exaggerate the propaganda of these products. Here, experts analyze them one by one and remind diabetics to beware of falling into the trap.
Trap 1: Diabetes can be completely cured
See this advertisement: “Type 2 diabetics are finally saved! Ten years of research, the culprit of diabetes is finally ‘caught’! After taking the product continuously for one course, the patient’s blood sugar will be stable for a long time, and all the indicators of the body will reach the clinical recovery standard, so that the patient will be completely free from the entanglement of diabetes.”
”This advertisement is a complete fraud, but there are patients who fall for it again and again.” Professor Qian Rongli told reporters that companies make full use of the patients’ eagerness to seek a cure and make a big deal out of the fact that diabetes can be cured. Such advertisements are usually in the name of a scientific research institution, falsely claiming that through decades of research, they have finally overcome diabetes.
Mr. Zhang Chuyu, 61 years old, is a patient of Professor Qian Rongli, and he has fallen for such advertisements. Zhang has had diabetes for almost 10 years, and his blood sugar has always been well controlled. Recently, he saw an advertisement saying that if he takes a product for one course of treatment, he can be completely cured of diabetes. Although it costs more than 5,000 yuan, Zhang still wants to try. The ad said that he had to stop taking the product first, and he did. One month later, Zhang’s blood sugar rose rapidly and his condition worsened.
”It’s a hard fact that diabetes is not curable.” Professor Qian Rongli said, although medical doctors in various countries are constantly working, but there is not yet a mature and effective method that can be applied to clinical treatment. Patients should not have any illusions about this, and anything that boasts a cure for diabetes is a fraud.
Trap 2: Diabetics don’t need to take medication for life
There is also an advertisement that reads, “Diabetics can completely get rid of the trouble of taking medication for life! After years of research by the Chinese Nobel Prize winner in medicine, it is finally possible to free diabetics from lifelong medication. The product can comprehensively control high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, high blood viscosity and high uric acid, while eliminating diabetic complications.”
”This advertisement is full of loopholes, which patients with a little common sense can recognize at a glance.” Professor Xiang Hongding analyzed to reporters that, first of all, so far, the Chinese have never picked up the Nobel Prize in medicine. Second, diabetes is a chronic disease, patients need to take drugs for life to keep blood sugar stable. The statement that there is no need to take medication for life is definitely a lie.
Professor Qian Rongli further analyzed that many diabetic patients expect to get rid of the constraint of lifelong medication, so such advertisements are quite tempting to them. As far as we know, what can play a role in lowering sugar in these products is still some added western medicine ingredients. After the patient takes it, the amount of medicine is unknown. Very easy to cause blood sugar out of control, leading to sudden complications, the consequences are unimaginable.
Trap 3: diabetics do not need to control the diet
For ordinary people, it is not difficult to eat and drink as much as you want, but for diabetics, it is a dream. There is a commercial that features many so-called diabetics, one by one, talking about their “happy life” of eating whatever they want, gorging themselves on ice cream, cream cakes, and other foods that are definitely not suitable for diabetics. At the end of the day, these patients agreed that a certain capsule had brought them back to the joy of eating.
”I had a patient who was almost cheated out of his life by such advertisements!” Professor Qian Rongli told the reporter about a real case. Wang Li, 38 years old, was diagnosed with diabetes. He is the sales manager of a company and needs to invite customers to dinner often. Therefore, controlling his diet meant giving up his job. As a result, his blood glucose went up and down, and a year later, he developed a non-ketotic diabetic hyperosmolar coma, an acute complication of diabetes that is also known as the disease of death.
According to Prof. Qian Rongli’s analysis, such advertisements only say in a general way that a product can regulate blood sugar and supplement insulin, without specifying its ingredients. In these products, the active ingredients are still some western drugs that lower blood sugar. The products usually require patients to take a lot of them for a short period of time, so after the western medicine works for a short period of time, if patients do not control their diet, their blood sugar will not rise immediately. However, for diabetic patients, it is meaningless to lower sugar in the short term, the key is to keep blood sugar stable, and this product fundamentally destroys the basis of blood sugar control for patients. Diabetic patients should remember that diet control is part of the treatment and cannot be replaced by taking any product.
Trap 4: Ancestral secret recipes can cure diabetes
In view of the fact that Western medicine has not yet been able to cure diabetes completely, some people have started to play the “Chinese medicine card”. There is a class of advertisements that usually say: ancestral secret recipe, pure Chinese medicine preparation, long-term use of non-toxic side effects; 30 minutes after taking the medicine, can quickly reduce sugar.
In this regard, Professor Qian Rongli said, practice has proved that Chinese medicine in China has a certain role in the treatment of diabetes, patients can go to regular Chinese medicine hospitals for treatment if needed. However, those so-called Chinese medicine preparations that claim to be some kind of ancestral secret recipe are not credible. As far as we know, those “ancestral secret recipes” are not secret at all, and it is no secret in the industry that different western medicine ingredients have been added to them.
Some Chinese medicines, such as thirst pills, have been approved by the state, and a component called “glibenclamide” can be found in their published list of main ingredients. However, it is illegal to add western medicine ingredients to traditional Chinese medicine without state approval. Therefore, Professor Qian Rongli reminds patients not to trust any secret recipes or prescriptions, as the side effects of adding unknown ingredients to these medicines will be greater after taking them.
Scientific treatment of the five horses should be remembered
”If the blood sugar is high, we must honestly take drugs to lower blood sugar. Never hope for the so-called sugar health products.” Professor Qian Rongli said that when we see diabetic patients, we will not recommend other nutritional products except for vitamin C and vitamin E, which have antioxidant effects, and calcium tablets. Of course, we do not exclude that some health supplements can play a role in lowering blood sugar and regulating blood lipids to a certain extent. However, it is important to remind patients that any nutraceuticals are only auxiliary to diabetes treatment and cannot replace medications.
Patients should consult their doctors before taking them
Experts agree that the first thing to do is to believe in science and understand that diabetes education and psychotherapy, diet, exercise, blood glucose monitoring and medication are the five horses that are inseparable from each other in the treatment of diabetes, and must be driven in tandem in order to pull the “chariot” of victory over diabetes.
”It’s not easy to pull this chariot.” Professor Qian Rongli said, diabetes patients need three parts medicine, seven parts nourishment, so it is also known as “family disease”, patients need to be in the family life conditioning, need every member of the family together to help, adhere to the treatment. The health knowledge of diabetic patients in China is really too little, and it can be said that most of them are still in a rather “ignorant” state. This also provides the soil for the “four traps” to appear. If patients can learn more about the relevant knowledge, not only will they not be deceived, but as long as they let the “five horses” run, the quality of life of diabetics can be guaranteed, and it is very possible to live happily until the age of 100 or 80.