Myth 1: Eating too much sugar will cause diabetes Reply: To date, there is no scientific evidence that eating too much sugar will cause diabetes. The causes of diabetes involve a variety of factors such as genetics, infection, genetic variation, environment, and diet. In terms of daily life, it is mainly the excessive calorie intake that leads to a corresponding increase in the incidence of diabetes. In the past, when living conditions were poor, people had few opportunities to eat meat every year, not to mention the wide variety of carbonated beverages on the market. In addition, several years ago, people’s field work and physical activities were more frequent. With the advancement of technology, which invariably affects people’s lifestyles, outdoor activities are significantly reduced. Over time, this has been accompanied by a yearly increase in the prevalence of diabetes. Therefore, diabetes and eating too much sugar should not be simply equated. Myth #2: People with diabetes only need to focus on medication, not lifestyle improvement. It takes a lifetime to drive the five carriages, namely mastering the knowledge of prevention and treatment, regular monitoring, scientific medication, reasonable diet, and active exercise. Only by establishing a good mindset can we effectively control blood sugar, delay the emergence of complications, and truly dance with sugar! Nauru’s bird droppings contain valuable phosphate deposits. When Westerners came to exploit the deposits, junk food and a laid-back lifestyle followed, and it quickly became the most diabetic country in the world. At least 30 years ago, many people thought of diabetes as a disease of affluence. Today, like “the swallow in front of the king’s palace, it has flown into the homes of ordinary people”, and it has become a health threat to more than a few hundred million people in China. The 20-year follow-up results of the Daqing Study confirm that: first, diabetes can be prevented; second, lifestyle interventions can prevent diabetes in the long term; and third, prevention of diabetes can extend to the reduction of microangiopathy, macroangiopathy, and death. The Daqing study is a gift from the Chinese diabetes community to the world! Myth 3: You can’t eat fruit if you have diabetes Reply: For sugar lovers, looking at the fresh, wide variety of fruits in fruit stores, they often salivate. So can you eat fruit in the end? The answer is yes. Here also encourage sugar lovers to eat in moderation to ensure the effective supply of nutrients and energy to the body. Different fruits have different glycemic indexes, and the glycemic index of glucose is usually set at 100. glycemic index >70 is high glycemic index food, they enter the gastrointestinal digestion fast, absorption rate is high, the speed of conversion into glucose is fast, blood sugar rises rapidly; glycemic index <55 is low glycemic index food, they stay in the stomach and intestines for a long time, absorption rate is low, the speed of conversion into glucose is slow, blood sugar rises slowly. The body has enough time to mobilize the release and synthesis of insulin, so that blood sugar does not spike. Therefore, sugar lovers can eat fruits with relatively low glycemic index. Myth 4: Insulin can be addictive, so that the fear of it when the blood sugar control is not good Reply: Insulin has been invented since nearly 100 years ago, and insulin is undoubtedly the brightest jewel in the process of human struggle with diabetes. As clinical research continues to progress, according to domestic and international guidelines and consensus recommendations, for type 2 diabetes, insulin needs to be used as early as possible. Firstly, it can protect the function of pancreatic beta cells, and secondly, early use can better control blood sugar and effectively reduce complications. Therefore, there is no question of addiction for type 2 diabetic patients. China also released the Expert Consensus on Short-term Intensive Insulin Therapy for Patients with Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes in the last two years, emphasizing that short-term intensive insulin therapy is closely related to the prognosis of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, especially for patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (fasting glucose >11.1mmol/l) with greater benefit. After a period of treatment, the possibility of switching to oral hypoglycemic agents is then evaluated based on the patient’s glycemic control, islet function, and other comprehensive factors. It is worth mentioning that patients with type 1 diabetes require lifelong insulin application. In the case of special type 1 diabetic patients, namely, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA), early intensive treatment with insulin can protect the residual islet function.