Times Online Medical Myths

[Razo681]

OK... There is one about diabitcs...

Top Medical Myths (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3774523.ece)

"DIABETICS CRAVE SUGAR

How wrong is this? Fairly. Diabetics do have to alter their sugar intake and they sometimes require an urgent sugar fix if their blood glucose is too low. So concluding that craving sugar equals diabetes is understandable but wrong.

What are the facts? Diabetes isn't caused by excess sugar, it's simply that the diabetic body has problems handling it.

Any related myths? That diabetics need to buy special, low-sugar versions of food and drink. They don't - a simple healthy diet will suffice. "


The last paragraph pissed me off. If it was that simple I'd get a gold star, but there's that thing called insulin. You know that thing a lot of us have to take 4 times a day. Guess his facts missed that one.

[RobiJo]

OK... There is one about diabitcs...

Any related myths? That diabetics need to buy special, low-sugar versions of food and drink. They don't - a simple healthy diet will suffice. "


The last paragraph pissed me off. If it was that simple I'd get a gold star, but there's that thing called insulin. You know that thing a lot of us have to take 4 times a day. Guess his facts missed that one.

I read that as... Diabetics don't HAVE to buy all sugar free/diet labeled stuff, that they can eat normal healthy food that is good for everyone. I don't read it as... a healthy diet will take care of it all and relieve them of meds.

Honestly those "sugar-free" and "diet" versions often have more total carbohydrate than the regular version.

[shiftzor]

.... Any related myths? That diabetics need to buy special, low-sugar versions of food and drink. They don't - a simple healthy diet will suffice....


lol, I could think of better "myths" they could have disproved. It doesn’t really shed light on the condition at all, if I knew nothing about diabetes I wouldn't know anything more after reading it. Opportunity wasted I guess.

[Razo681]

ahh I guess I was on the defensive, because it sounded to me that just a simple diet is a the answer to it. I can see your point though.

[BlueSky]

If the wording is changed to UNTREATED DIABETICS CRAVE SUGAR, it is quite true. I remember a desperate craving for sugar in the days before diagnosis. The body was craving sugar because the lack of insulin was denying access to the copious amount of glucose in the bloodstream. Of course, the craving went away as soon as insulin treatment was started.

[dodo]

If the wording is changed to UNTREATED DIABETICS CRAVE SUGAR, it is quite true. I remember a desperate craving for sugar in the days before diagnosis. The body was craving sugar because the lack of insulin was denying access to the copious amount of glucose in the bloodstream. Of course, the craving went away as soon as insulin treatment was started.

I'm wondering if I am normal or not because, in my case, the craving did not go away after I started insulin treatment. And I still need to control myself about these cravings:confused: .

[BlueSky]

... in my case, the craving did not go away after I started insulin treatment. And I still need to control myself about these cravings:confused: .
I think what happens is, after insulin treatment starts, the physical craving turns into a psychological craving. You really want some of the sweet stuff, not because your body needs it, but because you are feeling deprived. Just fighting these feelings heightens the feeling of deprivation, which is not good. The only sustainable way to deal with it, I believe, is to eat and cover for these foods but be aware of how they affect you. Do lots of tests and make all the corrections you need to make. Sooner or later, you will stop wanting food that causes you problems. ;)

[Tattoo azz]

most t1's who are kids when dx'd by the time they are in their teens don't even miss sugar i didn't i was 7 when dx'd and am now 33. I can't stand diet soda's or "diabetic" choccy they make me want to go to the bathroom. I am sick and tired of misinformation regarding diabetes

[Subby]

I think the "debunking" is poorly done. Nough said for me.

As for whether diabetics crave sugar, I can say without hesitation that this one does as soon as my blood sugar hits about 11.5.

In fact I can often tell I've inadvertantly hit 11 or 12 because chocolate bars pop into my head, and it becomes an obsessed desire. Sustained control below 8 or 9 mmol/l for more than 8 hours and the cravings recede remarkably. I have never had a craving of the same instant physical need, while below 8.

It's worth noting that carbs can cause cravings in "normal" people becuase they spike the BG in them. I think for very obvious logical reasons diabetics can be prone to this as well and in a much more exacerbated way.

In my case, I have seen again and again there is a direct correlation between a high BG and a very real, physical, ravaging sugar addiction.

I haven't even mentioned the insane cravings that occur with a severe low.

Am I typical? I don't know, but not usually.

[Eddy]

If the wording is changed to UNTREATED DIABETICS CRAVE SUGAR, it is quite true.


Ohhhhh yeah. I recall more than a few days where I'd do 500+ grams of sugar -- soda, juice, fruit, you name it.

I no longer have such cravings.

[HelenM]

Interestingly on a tv programme yesterday (one where doctors give advice people in the street) a woman asked how she could reduce her addiction to coca cola. She drank 9 cans a day and had done so for decades. The doctor discussed caffeine and sugar addiction but also decided to test the woman's blood sugar. It was 4.2mml.

[Subby]

A HBA1c would have been a bit more revealing. Not that I'm saying that something would have necessarily turned up out of the ordinary, but one BG test is relatively meaningless, shows no BG trend at all, except to rule out actual diabetes.

[pooh3465]

I think what happens is, after insulin treatment starts, the physical craving turns into a psychological craving. You really want some of the sweet stuff, not because your body needs it, but because you are feeling deprived. Just fighting these feelings heightens the feeling of deprivation, which is not good. The only sustainable way to deal with it, I believe, is to eat and cover for these foods but be aware of how they affect you. Do lots of tests and make all the corrections you need to make. Sooner or later, you will stop wanting food that causes you problems. ;)

Really good point I am not a well controlled diabetic and when my sugars get high I not only crave sugar but my body thinks I am starving and I always want to eat everything. I think though alot of it is psychological I do notice it happens more often when I am upset or stressed, or since I have gotten older it happens alot during the cycle. I think alot of it just depends on the person everyone is different.

[Alice]

I'm happy to see "something" about the "sugar myth" in mainstream media. They only blew a little dust in the sugar myth...but it's a start. Talking about insulin and carb bolus would have taken more research. Face it...that's not going to happen much with today's "journalists".

But hey, it's a step.