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Diabetes: The Myths, Facts, Do’s and Do not’s

Dr (Med) Louisa Afia Nkrumah Health Nov - 26 - 2024 , 09:57 5 minutes read

Diabetes is a metabolic disease that leads to a chronic state of high blood sugar.

This is usually due to decreased or absent insulin secretion or the inability of the body to respond to insulin.

In a healthy individual, food is broken down into glucose after meals and is absorbed into the bloodstream.

However, the cells need to use this sugar(glucose) to generate energy for the body’s activities. The body enhances this by releasing insulin from the pancreas.

This pushes the sugar into the cells so the cells of our body can use it. In diabetes mellitus, a dysfunction in this process leads to absent or inadequate insulin secretion hence blood glucose is unable to enter the cells for usage.

This leads to a state of high blood sugar levels and starving cells synonymous with the classic saying ‘starvation amid plenty’.

Diabetes Mellitus is also known as ‘asikyire yareε’ in Akan, ‘sikli hela’ in Ga, ‘suklidɔ’ in Ewe, ‘ciwon sukari’ in Hausa and ‘shikiri dolum’ in Dagbani languages respectively.

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rising worldwide and is also one of the silent killers today.

The highest burden of the disease in Ghana is in the Western Region followed by the Central and Ashanti regions. Risk factors for diabetes include living a sedentary lifestyle, poor dietary practices, obesity, a family history of diabetes, smoking and chronic glucocorticoid use.

Diabetes myths

Due to the extensive work done by public health specialists over the years, many adult Ghanaians are aware of this condition. However, there are a lot of myths surrounding this disease. Here are a few of them :

Diabetes only affects Obese people

While obesity is a risk factor for diabetes, not all obese people will develop diabetes. In fact, in the United States, a 10th of patients with diabetes are not obese. This is because the cause of diabetes is multifactorial including genetics (family history), diet, physical activity levels and race.

Diabetes can be cured with herbal and natural therapies

Currently, there is no known cure for diabetes. It is however managed with medications and lifestyle medications to reduce the risk of complications and mortality. No herbal and natural therapies have so far been certified to cure diabetes.

Consult your doctor before taking any of these remedies. Some of them may indeed make the control of your diabetes worse and lead to unwanted complications.

Diabetes, not a death Sentence

Although a diagnosis of diabetes can be devastating, it is not a death sentence. With expert medical care and lifestyle modifications, it can be managed and controlled with little complications. Most people with good care will live to old age. Lifestyle modifications including weight loss, and a healthy diet can significantly reduce blood glucose levels.

Diabetes is caused by witchcraft, juju or a curse

As stated above, diabetes is caused by ineffective or the lack of insulin. It has nothing to do with being bewitched, cursed or juju.

Diabetes is contagious

Diabetes is a non-communicable disease which means that it cannot be acquired by human interactions such as sneezing, talking, blood transfusion, shaking hands or any other person-to-person contact.

However, type 2 diabetes is common among first-degree relatives due to underlying genetic predisposition.

When ants pass over your urine, you will get diabetes

This statement is incorrect. When there is too much glucose or sugar in your blood due to diabetes, it spills into your urine as the body tries to get rid of it. This sugar in the urine may attract ants around your urine when you urinate. So, finding ants around your urine may indicate that you have diabetes and not the other way around.

The do’s & do nots of diabetes mellitus

As indicated earlier, being told you have diabetes is not a death sentence. Some patients have lived for over 30 years with diabetes. Your outcome will depend on how compliant and responsive you are to medical treatment.

The DO’S

Commit to exercise, weight loss and a healthy diet. In fact, a percentage of diabetes can be managed with diet and exercise only. Exercise and weight loss improve glucose control and the effectiveness of medical therapy.

Regular hospital attendance will ensure that any complications are picked up early and managed.

The Do Not’s

Once you are diagnosed with diabetes, do not stop attending reviews and do not stop taking your medications unless indicated by your physician. These 2 have been linked to a high risk of morbidity and mortality. And lastly, do not panic, diabetes is not a death sentence. With regular medical care, you should be able to live a normal lifestyle.