5 Myths About Diabetes, and What You Need to Know to Stay Healthy

Myth #3 If you have type 2 diabetes, you need insulin.

Most people don’t—many are able to control their diabetes through diet and exercise, oral medication, or a combination of both. Of those with type 2 diabetes, only 40% use insulin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Your need for insulin may change with age, though. "Eventually, to keep your blood glucose levels in a healthy range, you might need to use it," Petersen says. "And that’s OK. It’s just that your disease has progressed and now you’re taking the best step to manage it." (And if you have type 1 diabetes, you will need to take insulin right from the start.)

Myth #4 You’d know if you had diabetes.

It can take months—or even years—for symptoms to get extreme enough for people to figure out on their own that they have type 2 diabetes, says Dr. Pinney. That’s because the most common signs, increased urination and thirst, are easy to overlook or to write off as part of getting older. By the time more noticeable symptoms like blurry vision or tingling hands and feet prompt someone to make a doctor’s appointment, he or she may have had elevated blood sugars for a long time. An estimated 24% of people with diabetes are undiagnosed, which is why doctors recommend that those with major risk factors—such as being 45 or older, being overweight, or having a family history of diabetes—have their A1C tested periodically. This simple blood draw will give your doc a snapshot of your blood glucose levels over the past three months and is one way to diagnose diabetes.

Myth #5 The only reason diabetes docs tell patients to exercise is so they’ll lose weight.

Nope! While it may help people lose weight, exercise (even if you don’t drop pounds) also increases your insulin sensitivity, which naturally lowers your blood glucose. Studies have shown that a single bout of exercise can improve insulin sensitivity by up to 50% for as long as 72 hours after the sweat session. And even if your weight stays exactly the same, exercise can lower your A1C (long-term glucose levels) and your odds of developing diabetes. That’s because when muscle cells are active, they’re able to take up glucose and use it for energy without needing any insulin, says Petersen. "Exercise is kind of a miracle treatment in its own way."

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