Being a type 1 diabetic, I personally have heard a whole lot more than just five myths or assumptions about diabetics, but here is my personal favorite five. In my number five spot and starting my count down is:

Myth #5: Eating too much sugar causes Diabetes.

To start off, Type 1 Diabetes is caused by the destruction of the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas, which is in no way related to sugar consumption. Type 1 is usually inherited every other generation.

In my #4 spot is:

Myth #4 Insulin cures Diabetes.

As much as I wish it was that easy, it’s defiantly not. Insulin simply helps manage diabetes, but doesn’t cure it. Insulin helps get glucose or sugar out of the bloodstream and into the cells, where it can be used for energy. Basically, insulin keeps the blood sugar under control, but sadly does not correct the underlying cause.

Getting the #3 spot is:

Myth #3 kids with diabetes can never eat sweets

This one really just makes me laugh, diabetics can eat whatever they want, they just need to know how to correct for it. That’s not saying I could go and sit and eat and entire carton of ice cream or a king size Hershey’s bar, we can eat what we want but at a certain amount and we need to maintain a balanced diet. Because sweets provide no real nutritional value other than calories and carbs they should be limited but not eliminated.

Going down to my #2 spot is:

Myth #2 People with Diabetes can feel whether their blood sugar levels are high or low.

This myth is partially true, in my personal experience, I myself can tell if my blood sugar is getting low or high but I can only tell if it’s a drastic low or a drastic high. The average range you want to stay in my 80-150. Although someone with diabetics may feel physical symptoms such as extreme thirst, weakness, or fatigue if blood sugar levels are high or low, the only way to know for sure what the levels are is to test them. For example, because blood sugar levels have to be very high to cause symptoms, a person who isn’t testing regularly may be having blood sugar levels high enough to damage the body without even realizing it.

Now I know this the moment you’ve been waiting for, my #1 and favorite Diabetes Myth. And that would be:

Myth #1 Kids with Diabetes can’t exercise.

This myth is my absolute favorite out of them all because I myself am one of the most active diabetics you’ll meet. I’m on two very demanding Competitive All-Star Cheerleading teams that practice 5 days a week. Exercise is important in every kid’s life, with or without diabetes. Exercise actually offers many benefits to kids with diabetes: it helps manage their weight, improves cardiovascular health, boosts mood, and helps keep the blood sugar control.

Well there you have it, Top 5 myths about type one diabetes. For my final words I’d like to say, don’t always just assume something about anything you don’t know much about, you’d be surprised on how much you don’t know or by how much you actually learn. Kids with Type 1 are just like everyone else, we just have an extra thing in life to manage until there is a cure.