When a patient is diagnosed with diabetes, he or she is often given medical advice by a physician or dietitian: control the diet. Diet therapy is the most basic measure in the treatment of diabetes. The purpose of treatment is to improve the overall health level by regulating the diet under the premise of ensuring the normal physiological needs, growth and development of the body. However, in practice, patients and their families, and even some medical workers, often fall into misconceptions because the purpose of dietary therapy for diabetic patients is not very clear.
Myth 1: Staple foods contain sugar, the less you eat the better Diabetic patients generally believe that the less staple foods eat the better for disease control, many patients control staple food intake. The less staple food is really the better? The answer is no, it goes against the principle of a balanced diet. Sugar is one of the main sources of energy in the body and is the body’s daily life support. If less is eaten to the extent that it cannot provide the body’s normal metabolism, it will lead to insufficient sugar in the body, at which time the body can only mobilize fat and protein to supply energy. Insufficient total calorie intake to meet the needs of the body’s metabolism, easy to lead to excessive decomposition of body fat and protein, the body wasting malnutrition, and even produce starvation ketosis.
Myth 2: Meat does not contain sugar, there is no harm in eating more Meat does not contain sugar, there is no harm in eating more. People who hold this view are commonly between the ages of 30 and 50 years old, and are patients who are busy and socialize more, and often participate in various meals, and after eating more meat, there is no higher blood sugar, thus creating this misconception. Although meat contains very little sugar, but the metabolism of meat and fat also depends on the body’s secretion of insulin, eating more meat will also increase the burden on the pancreas. Excessive intake of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol is the main dietary factor for elevated plasma LDL and total cholesterol levels. Some scholars in the United States have suggested that diabetes is worsened not by excessive blood sugar but by high blood fats, because sugar and fat are hydrocarbons that can be transformed into each other in the body.
Myth 3: Fruits contain sugar and cannot be eaten Some patients think that fruits contain sugar and are afraid to eat them. In fact, the vitamins, pectin and minerals contained in fruits are beneficial to the human body. Fruits contain sugar glucose, fructose and sucrose, of which fructose in the metabolism does not require insulin to participate, so diabetics in the blood sugar has been controlled do not reject fruit. Under the premise of good control of diabetes, you can eat fruit twice a day, preferably at about 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. between the two meals, the amount of fruit should be controlled in apples, pears, peaches each time you eat 1/8, oranges each time you eat 3-5 petals, bananas each time you eat half, watermelon each time you eat half a leaf, each time you can only eat a fruit.
Myth 4: Eat only coarse grains, not fine grains Coarse grains contain some dietary fiber and vitamins, inorganic salts and other nutrients, is conducive to lowering sugar and fat, many “sugar lovers” therefore only eat coarse grains, afraid to eat fine grains. Diabetes diet staple food should try to do a reasonable mix of coarse and fine grains, coarse and fine grains mixed together to eat. The concept of proper nutrition tells us that there are advantages and disadvantages to eating too much of any food. For example, you can eat noodles and steamed buns made of “corn + barley noodles” or “corn + barley noodles + buckwheat noodles” made of triple noodles.
Myth 5: In order to drink less and urinate less, artificially control drinking water The polyuria of diabetic patients and more drinking is a causal relationship. Polyuria is the cause of polyuria, and polyuria is the result of polyuria. Some patients restrict drinking because they have symptoms of polyhydramnios and polyuria at the beginning of the disease. In fact, because a lot of water is taken away when glucose is excreted from urine, you should drink water when you feel thirsty, and you should not restrict it, otherwise it may cause dehydration and other situations to occur. Diabetic patients drink more water, the actual water loss in the body to replenish, but also to improve blood flow, promote circulation, increase metabolism and eliminate ketone bodies and other effects, is a protective response to water loss in the body. Diabetic patients should not only not restrict drinking water, but also drink more water appropriately. Because the absolute or relative lack of insulin in diabetic patients, in a state of hyperglycemia, will stimulate the hypothalamus thirst center and cause thirst, drinking water can make the plasma osmolality drop or return to normal, play a role in lowering blood sugar, so that patients are no longer thirsty. If you restrict drinking water, this may cause blood concentration and metabolic waste in the blood cannot be discharged, which will cause diabetic ketoacidosis and even hypertonic diabetic coma, in addition to dehydration will damage the nervous system, which is very detrimental to the condition. To control polyuria, you have to start with controlling high blood sugar, and not controlling water consumption.
Myth 6: Sweets should not eat more, eat salty does not matter Some patients wrongly believe that diabetes as long as they do not eat sweets on the line, it is okay to eat salty things. Clinically, there are five stages of diabetes, usually found in the third stage of diabetes complications of nephropathy after the patient can be observed in the urine microalbumin has increased, and also with hypertension of the disease, and in order to avoid a more serious situation, that diabetes in the three to five stages, the patient should strictly control the standard of salt restriction. If too much salt is consumed, it will enhance amylase activity, thus promoting starch digestion and the absorption of free glucose in the small intestine, which can cause an increase in blood glucose concentration and lead to aggravation.
Myth 7: Sugar-free food does not contain sugar and can be eaten without worries Some patients think that the “sugar-free food” sold by some companies does not contain sugar and can be eaten without worries, which is a wrong approach. This is a wrong approach. “Sugar-free food” like “sugar-free mooncakes and cookies” only does not contain glucose, but it is the same as steamed buns, which are made of starch and will be converted into glucose after eating them. The right way is to treat them the same as steamed buns and other staple foods, eat a certain amount every day, eat one or two less steamed buns can be replaced by eating one or two “sugar-free cookies”.
Myth 8: Eating pumpkin can lower blood sugar “eating pumpkin can lower blood sugar”, this claim has been circulating in folklore, resulting in many diabetic patients will be pumpkin as a necessary food for every meal, and even as medicine to eat, thinking that the more you eat the faster your blood sugar drops. In fact, pumpkin is not a drug, it can not achieve the purpose of treating diabetes, and a large number of consumption will also raise blood sugar. Therefore, the correct approach is to eat more than once every other week, and the amount must be small, not more than 3 taels at a time.
Myth 9: Xylitol can be eaten with confidence Xylitol is known as the “safe sugar” for diabetics. Although diabetics can choose xylitol as a condiment, but not unlimited consumption. Xylitol, like glucose and sucrose, is a carbohydrate composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen elements. Therefore, xylitol can not correct the condition of disordered sugar metabolism in diabetic patients, nor can it lower blood sugar, urine sugar, or improve clinical symptoms. Diabetic patients should not eat more xylitol.
Myth 10: eating glucose-lowering drugs, do not need diet control Some diabetic patients feel that they have taken glucose-lowering drugs, the diet can be released to eat. In fact, overeating can cause a sharp rise in blood sugar after meals, adding more burden to the already fragile pancreatic islet function. Diet therapy is the foundation of diabetes treatment. It is very wrong to rely on medication alone without controlling diet, or to take more glucose-lowering medication to offset more eating. Choose medication to control fasting blood sugar while also controlling postprandial blood sugar. Postprandial blood glucose has an extremely close relationship with diabetic macrovascular comorbidity, and its changes not only directly affect the overall blood glucose control, but also lead to cardiovascular complications more easily than fasting blood glucose. Good control of postprandial blood glucose is beneficial to the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular complications of diabetes.