12 Common Diabetes Myths

By Sarah Henry, Caring.com senior editor

Can eating too much sugar cause diabetes? Is there only one kind of diabetes that is dangerous? There is any number of myths about diabetes–here we debunk twelve of the most common ones.

Myth #1: People with diabetes can’t eat anything sweet
Despite what you may have heard, a piece of cake or a couple of cookies won’t cause a health crisis. In fact, sweets can be eaten in moderation by people with type 2 diabetes, if eaten as part of a healthy meal plan and combined with exercise, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Still, while avoiding sweet treats isn’t mandatory, limiting them is. Sweets often contain not only empty calories but a lot of sugar, a carbohydrate that raises glucose levels considerably. For better glucose control, diabetics should have dessert only after a low-carb meal. It’s important to eat that chicken breast, broccoli, and salad before dishing into some ice cream.

Next: Myth #2 (click through to end for a printable version)

12 Common Diabetes Myths originally appeared on Caring.com.

1 of 13

Read more: Diabetes, Health, blood sugar, exercise, insulin, myths

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Eternal G.

6:53PM PDT on Sep 25, 2011

Thanks for the info.

send a green star

Michele W.

2:12PM PDT on Sep 14, 2011

Thank you

Abbe A.

5:11PM PDT on Sep 7, 2011

nice to have a little dietary leeway

Yordanka T.

10:59AM PDT on Aug 31, 2011

Thank you! My husband has diabetes type 2 and your article boosted his spirits because it explains the causes and all very well.

Steve H.

4:39PM PDT on Aug 29, 2011

Oops! I'd forgotten (the joys of getting older!) : the left arrow at the top of the first page, where, as near as I can get in text it looks like will also get you to the whole article very often. Thanks Azaleea D. for reminding me!

4:27PM PDT on Aug 29, 2011

Janet Ciresi: This article has a printer-friendly version. The page says click through to the end but if you click once you'll find "?page=2" at the end of the URL. We know it's a 13 page article so just replace the 2 with 13 and you get the printer-friendly version - i.e. all on one page. Unfortunately not all articles are of this form. I too give up on many articles simply because after a page has loaded I might have an additional paragraph. Somebody somewhere must feel it's worth losing all those readers who don't want to waste hours trying to read a few paragraphs. Just remember to watch out for printer-friendly articles :-)

Janet C.

8:28AM PDT on Aug 29, 2011

There are so many important, informative, and just plain fun things on care2. I try to read as many as I can. But because so many are SO many pages long and each page takes a long time to load (even with high speed Internet) I find I don't have the time or patience to read everything. PLEASE put more on each page so we can read everything that we want to and still do other things! Is anyone else bothered by this?

Lika S.

9:43PM PDT on Aug 28, 2011

I'm working on it... lol. My numbers are looking a lot better.

dawn p.

2:54PM PDT on Aug 28, 2011

thanks