A Brief History of Diabetes
Diabetes as a known condition has been around since ancient times. Here is a brief timeline of the disease:
1552 BC: The physician Hesy-Ra wrote the first mention of a symptom of diabetes (frequent urination) on Egyptian papyrus.
250 BC: Apollonius of Memphis coined the term diabetes.
11th century AD: The word mellitus—Latin for honey—was added to the term diabetes. At the time, diabetes was diagnosed by tasting the urine to see if it was sweet.
The 1800s: A test was developed to detect sugar in the urine.
The early 1900s: Several diabetes diet treatments were rolled out. These included a whiskey and black coffee "cleanse" followed by a restrictive diet (often leading to starvation) and an "oat-cure," consisting of frequent doses of 1:1 oats to butter mixture.
1929: Insulin was produced and distributed for the first time.
1950: The diabetic food exchange system was first developed.
1959: Type 1 and type 2 diabetes were distinguished and categorized.
MYTH: Diabetics cannot consume fruits.
FACT: Diabetics can consume fruits because they contain fibre and fructose sugar. Due to the fibre content of fruits, fructose is released slowly into the blood and our body can utilise fructose without insulin. However, fruit juices are not recommended because they don't contain fibre. (Fruits like banana, Chikoo, Mango, Grapes, Sugarcane and Custard Apple are not recommended.)
MYTH: Bitter tasting foods will lower blood sugar.
FACT: Consuming bitter tasting items like neem and bitter gourd (karela) will not reduce blood sugar because glucose is derived from foods rich in carbohydrates, even if they are not sweet.
MYTH: A diabetic cannot consume any type of sweetener.
FACT: Direct sugar is usually omitted from the diet of most diabetics. However, sugar substitutes can be used in two forms; fructose sugar (fruits) and artificial sweeteners.
MYTH: All types of diabetes are same.
FACT: There are several types of diabetes out of which type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes are common. There are other less known types of diabetes as well.
MYTH: Diabetes can be prevented.
FACT: Not all types of diabetes can be prevented. For example, the reason for type 1 diabetes is autoimmune and cannot be prevented.
MYTH: Type 2 diabetes is mild and only affects obese people.
FACT: No form of diabetes is mild and if type 2 diabetes is poorly managed, it can lead to life-threatening situations. Though taking good care can reduce the number of complications but this doesn’t mean that the condition itself is not serious.
MYTH: Eating too much sugar can cause diabetes
FACT: Weight gain can be one of the reasons to develop diabetes. Extra calorie intake and no physical workout can lead to increase in weight. And eating sugary items can add more calories to your diet. So eating sugar is not directly linked to diabetes
Comments
Post a Comment