Frequently Asked Questions
What is diabetes?
People with diabetes have either a pancreas that produces no insulin (or insufficient amounts) or a system that doesn’t effectively process insulin. Insulin is a vital hormone that allows sugar (glucose) to penetrate cells and convert into energy.
What is the difference between Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes?
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune, genetic or environmental disease that cannot be prevented. The body, in this case, produces no insulin. It most often strikes children and young adults.
Type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 9 out of 10 cases, is often linked to obesity, physical inactivity, old age, problematic glucose metabolism, ethnicity and race. (Native Americans and Native Alaskans have the highest rates). Type 2 diabetics do not produce enough insulin or their cells ignore the insulin.
What are the most common myths about diabetes?
(Here are some common misconceptions about diabetes, courtesy of the American Diabetes Association).
| Myth: | You can catch diabetes from someone else. |
| Fact: | It is not contagious. |
| Myth: | People with diabetes can’t eat chocolate. |
| Fact: | Sweets and desserts, if eaten as part of a healthy meal plan, are not off-limits to people with diabetes |
| Myth: | Eating too much sugar causes diabetes. |
| Fact: | Type 2 diabetes is caused by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors. However, being overweight does increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes. |
| Myth: | People with diabetes should eat special diabetic foods. |
| Fact: | Diabetics, like everyone else, should eat healthy – that means a diet low in fat (especially saturated and trans fat); moderate in salt and sugar; and filled with whole-grain foods, vegetables and fruit. |
| Myth: | If you have diabetes, you should only eat small amounts of starchy foods such as bread, potatoes and pasta. |
| Fact: | Portion size is important, but most people with diabetes can have three to four servings of carbohydrate-heavy foods daily. |
| Myth: | People with diabetes are more susceptible to colds and other illnesses. |
| Fact: | Not true. However, people with diabetes are advised to get flu shots because infections can interfere with blood-glucose management. |
| Myth: | The weight gain caused by insulin makes it a danger to diabetics. |
| Fact: | Studies show that the benefit of glucose management with insuln outweighs the risk of weight gain. |
How is diabetes diagnosed?
In order to determine whether or not a patient has prediabetes or diabetes, health-care providers conduct a Fasting Plasma Glucose Test (FPG) or an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). Either test can be used to diagnose prediabetes or diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends the FPG because it is easier, faster and less expensive to perform.
FPG: A fasting blood-glucose level between 100 and 125 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) signals prediabetes. A person with a fasting blood glucose level of 126 mg/dL or higher has diabetes.
OGTT: A person’s blood-glucose level is measured after a fast and two hours after drinking a glucose-rich beverage. If the two-hour blood-glucose level is between 140 and 199 mg/dL, the person has prediabetes. If the two-hour blood-glucose lever is at 200 mg/dL or higher, the person has diabetes.
Source: American Diabetes Association
