Learn the facts from experts

Of course, blood sugars are an important part of your overall health. There are valid recommendations for optimizing blood sugars. But the truth sometimes gets lost in the flood of social media. Our brains are flooded with suggestions and warnings, often without any scientific backing.

Fear mongering is never the answer to improving well-being. And neither is information overload. These diabetes experts aim to tackle common diabetes myths to give you peace of mind and help you better manage the condition if you have it.

4 Common Myths About Diabetes and Blood Sugar That Experts Want You to Ignore

1. Myth: Being overweight automatically means you will get diabetes

The Reality: Weight and BMI aren’t the only factors that can affect your overall health or risk of diabetes.

Esther Tambe, RDN, CDN, CDNES, is a weight-inclusive dietitian who hears this diabetes myth often. “An assumption about[health]related to body size leads to misdiagnosis and is a great example of how weight stigma and weight bias manifest in diabetes care,” she says. Not all people with type 2 diabetes are fat, she says, and not all people with type 1 diabetes are thin.

To be clear: Weight isn’t the only risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Other factors include age, family history, lack of physical activity, and prediabetes or gestational diabetes, according to the National Institutes of Health. (Experts don’t fully understand what causes someone to develop type 1 diabetes, but age and family history are the biggest risk factors.)

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Ultimately, your health is so much more than your size. By focusing on health-promoting behaviors like exercise and sleep, rather than a number on the scale, you can benefit both your physical and mental well-being, whether you have diabetes or not.

2. Myth: You can’t eat carbohydrates if you have diabetes

The reality: Diets for people with diabetes are nuanced (and may contain carbohydrates).

Carbohydrate-rich foods like oats, fruits, and certain vegetables are often avoided by people with diabetes (or those trying to prevent it) because of potential blood sugar spikes. Justine Chan, RD, CDE, founder of Your Diabetes Dietitian , says this tactic can backfire. “Regularly avoiding desserts and other carbs can make you feel more tired and increase food cravings. You may feel deprived and end up eating more of the foods you crave, which can lead to high blood sugar levels.”

In general, statements like “don’t eat X food” can do more harm than good, experts say. “This ‘don’t’ mentality sets people up for failure because it deprives them of important nutrients they need to thrive. It’s also not sustainable, which is essential for keeping blood sugar levels stable over the long term,” says Michelle Routhenstein, RD, CDCES, CDN, owner of Entirely Nourished.

So yes, you may need to be a little more aware of your sugar and carbohydrate intake with diabetes. But unless you have a food allergy or intolerance, there are no specific foods that you should avoid completely, including carbohydrates.

3. Myth: Sugar-free foods are a better choice if you have diabetes

The reality: Sugar-free diets have their own drawbacks, which not everyone wants to know about.

Replacing all of your foods with sugar-free alternatives can be tempting. But sugar-free foods are often too good to be true. For starters, “many sugar-free foods contain more sodium or fat than their full-fat counterparts,” says Amanda Lane, RD, CDCES, founder of Healthful Lane Nutrition. To make up for the difference in taste with less sugar, brands add sodium or fat, which may not align with your specific health goals.

Additionally, Chan says that some “sugar-free” ingredients like maltodextrin can still affect your blood glucose levels. And these non-nutritive sweeteners can come with their own unique side effects. “There are often other additives like sugar alcohols that can cause GI distress,” she adds. (So if you’re going to scarf down a bag of sugar-free candy, you might find yourself parking in the bathroom.)

That said, Lane generally recommends choosing foods that are naturally lower in added sugar. But if there’s a particular sugar-free item that you absolutely love, by all means enjoy it! Just don’t think of it as a miracle cure for diabetes.

4. Myth: Continuous glucose monitors are useful even if you don’t have diabetes

The Reality: This technology provides unnecessary and potentially confusing information for most people without diabetes.

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are marketed to people without diabetes as a way to track blood sugar levels and manipulate metabolism. But should they? Most diabetes experts don’t think so. “There is little to no research to support their use in people without diabetes, and it’s questionable whether it improves health outcomes,” Chan says.

Based on the limited research that do exist on the topic, people without diabetes may find that their GCM tells them a whole lot of nothing. A small 2019 study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism gave CGMs to 153 people without diabetes and found that the participants’ blood sugar levels were within normal range 96 percent of the time.

“It can be overwhelming to have constant access to blood sugar information at your fingertips,” Chan says, adding that not everyone processes the feedback correctly. For example, everyone’s blood sugar naturally goes up and down throughout the day in response to what you eat and other behaviors. But if you don’t know that and you have a GCM, “you may react incorrectly to the data, such as snacking after a normal physiological drop in blood sugar,” Chan says. On the other hand, you may panic about any post-meal spike in glucose (even though, again, that’s normal and expected).

Another concern for diabetes specialists is supply. “Use of CGMs by those who don’t need them could contribute to shortages of devices for those who really need them to inform care,” Lane says.

Where to get reliable information about diabetes

Between social media and powerful search engines, we have a lot of information at our fingertips. But there must be safeguards in place to prevent overwhelm and misinformation, especially when it comes to managing a health condition like diabetes. “Everything we see online doesn’t apply to everyone, especially nutrition and diabetes management,” says Tambe. “Diabetes management is not a one-size-fits-all approach; it’s very individual!”

Tambe advises finding reliable and trustworthy sources online, such as doctors or dietitians who specialize in diabetes, government health organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, or nonprofit organizations focused on diabetes, such as the American Diabetes Association.

You can also change the way your social media feed looks to make sure you’re getting legitimate information. “Take the time to unfollow anyone on your timeline who is sharing too much confusing or contradictory information that makes you feel negative about yourself or your choices,” says Diana Mesa, RD, LDN, CDCES.

Taking steps to improve your health can be very encouraging, and it shouldn’t be stressful. If it feels like it’s all too much, take a step back. Changes can be relaxed, small, and gradual, so that they are manageable and sustainable.