- Dear Doctor: Misconceptions on how diabetes and sugar are related may lead to the wrong diet OregonLive
- Low-Fat Vegan Diet Reduces Insulin Requirements and Improves Insulin Sensitivity for People With Type 1 Diabetes, Finds Groundbreaking New Study Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
- Rooted SBC and Savie Health present Plant-Powered Nutrition for Diabetes with Sharon Palmer, RDN Noozhawk
- Low-fat vegan diet found to lower insulin needs in Type 1 diabetics, lower risk of heart disease The Indian Express
- To Your Good Health: People with diabetes have great results with a plant-based diet Kilgore News Herald
Tag Archives: misconceptions
Dear Doctor: Misconceptions on how diabetes and sugar are related may lead to the wrong diet – OregonLive
- Dear Doctor: Misconceptions on how diabetes and sugar are related may lead to the wrong diet OregonLive
- Low-Fat Vegan Diet Reduces Insulin Requirements and Improves Insulin Sensitivity for People With Type 1 Diabetes, Finds Groundbreaking New Study Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
- To Your Good Health: People with diabetes have great results with a plant-based diet Kilgore News Herald
- Want to lower risk of heart disease? This vegan diet can reduce insulin needs among people with Type 1 Diabetes The Financial Express
- HEALTH: People with diabetes have great results with a plant-based diet Rockdale Newton Citizen
Alicia Witt Addresses “Misconceptions” About Parents’ Sudden Death
“i begged, cried, tried to reason with them, tried to convince them to let me help them move—but every time, they became furious with me, telling me i had no right to tell them how to live their lives and that they had it all under control,” she explained. “it was not for a lack of trying on my part, or the part of other people who loved them.”
Noting that her parents “were not penniless,” Alicia said Robert and Diane “made choices” that she didn’t agree with and she eventually stopped “short of petitioning the court system for taking control of two otherwise very sharp, very independent, very capable adults.”
“they were a united, intertwined, indivisible force, determined to do things their own way,” she said of her parents. “knowing they had each other—battling them the way i would have had to in order to do this truly felt like it would have destroyed them.”
Shortly before their death, the heat in Robert and Diane’s home went out, according to Alicia; she said she “will never understand how or why they made the choice not to tell me this.”
Living With Type 1 Diabetes: Management & Misconceptions
The hardest thing about living with diabetes is there’s simply no escape. It has the tendency to pop up at the most inconvenient times, like when I’m about to go on a walk and my blood sugar decides to drop, leaving me stuck at the house until it rebalances. Or when I’m heading to dinner and my blood sugar spikes so high that I can’t eat anything.
Type 1 diabetes is a 24/7 illness, 365 days a year, and you always have to be thinking about your blood sugar levels, carb counting, and insulin. There is nothing you did to cause it, and there is no cure to the disease. Some days can be great, with stellar blood sugar levels all day and no issues, but some days you just want to give up and take a time out, which simply isn’t possible.
Many type 1 diabetics struggle at some point in their life with diabetes burnout, where the physical and psychological toll of the condition becomes too frustrating, leading them to give up and let their numbers run high. While friends, family and healthcare professionals are all great resources, no one will really understand the everyday struggle of diabetes without experiencing it firsthand.
One of the most helpful pieces I can offer to anyone with type 1 diabetes is to seek out support, and be willing to accept help when you need it. If I’m lying in bed with low blood sugar, too faint to get up, I’ve realized how much simpler it is to text someone who’s home and ask for a juice box, rather than fighting to get up myself. Educate your friends and family about what exactly they can do to support you!
Diabetes has taught me so much, and truly shaped me into the person I am today. I’ve learned to not only accept it, but embrace it as a part of who I am. Since my diagnosis, I’ve learned resilience in tough times, patience, acceptance of the good with the bad, and the importance of surrounding myself with an amazing support system. While I would give anything to have my condition go away—even if just for a day—I’m still hopeful for the future of technology, and will continue making do with the resources I have.
Some common misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines
COVID-19 vaccines have been proven to provide a reduction in virus deaths and infections, but sadly, there are a number of misconceptions surrounding the life-saving drugs, leading to some Jamaicans opting not to get inoculated.
This has a negative impact, as decreasing immunisation rates against COVID-19 can lead to a further rise in the respiratory illness, especially given the fact that, to date, just 9.9 per cent of the island’s population was fully vaccinated up to Thursday.
Misconceptions such as ‘COVID-19 vaccines can overwhelm a child’s immune system’ are dangerous and have “no scientific or medical standing”, according to the United State Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Scientists and researchers have repeatedly indicated that the reality is that the cells in the immune system are “continuously being renewed”, meaning the likelihood of the system being overwhelmed is unlikely due to cell replenishment.
Another misconception relative to the COVID-19 vaccines is that persons should not get both doses of a two-dose vaccine.
The Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines that are being administered in Jamaica require two does that are given at least a few weeks apart. Jamaica’s Health and Wellness Ministry has emphasised that both shots are needed for “optimal protection”.
Furthermore, one shot does not make an individual fully vaccinated.
A study published by the CDC in May of this year, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), found that “a single dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines was about 80 per cent effective against symptomatic COVID-19; two doses were 94 per cent effective.”
With the dangerous Delta strain of the coronavirus becoming dominant globally, a second shot is even more important.
“A UK-based study recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that one dose of the Pfizer vaccine or AstraZeneca vaccine (the latter of which is not currently authorised in the US) is about 31 per cent effective against symptomatic disease caused by Delta. Two vaccine doses were about 88 per cent effective,” the AAFP stated.
Presently, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is the only single-dose vaccine on offer in Jamaica, and it has proven to be effective against the Delta strain of the virus.
The second shot of the Pfizer should be administered 21 days after the first, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended. However, the second shot of the Pfizer may be given up to six weeks or 42 days from the first.
The second shot of the AstraZeneca, according to WHO standards, can be given between eight or 12 weeks. If necessary, it can also be given up to 14 weeks after the first dose.
Another misconception about the vaccines is that they are bad for persons who have a history of allergic reactions.
This is false, as the US CDC has indicated that persons with a history of allergic reactions to oral medications, food, pets, insects, among other things, can safely get inoculated with any brand of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The AAFP recently noted that “The only group the agency (CDC) says should definitely abstain are those who have had severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in a COVID-19 vaccine.”
Additionally, if persons have had “an allergic reaction to other vaccines or to injectable medications, the CDC recommends talking to your medical provider about whether to get the vaccine,” according to the AAFP.
In Jamaica, health officials have also adopted this stance. There have not been extensive reports locally of persons having experienced severe allergic reactions after taking the vaccines.
There are also misconceptions about whether persons can contract COVID-19 from the anti-COVID vaccines.
This, again, is false, as where viruses are used in making the coronavirus vaccines, the virus cells are deactivated, and have not been proven to cause infections.
Local doctor dispels common COVID-19 misconceptions
He said the fears people have don’t offset the proven benefits of the vaccine.
“Far and away, the risks of getting infected for your own health, much less spreading it in the community, greatly outweigh the risks of the vaccines,” said Epstein.
One of the biggest worries is the fact that all three COVID-19 vaccines currently out in the US are not fully approved by the FDA. Many believe that means the vaccine is experimental, but Epstein said people are underestimating just how much work was put into this process.
“There were tens of thousands of folks that were studied way back when, over a year ago, about the vaccine. There is ample amount of data to show that it is safe and effective,” he said.
And the biggest difference between full approval and emergency use.
“It wasn’t the usual process of a longer six months and longer ability to understand what happens over a long period of time,” Epstein said. “We are very much on the cusp of meeting the usual kind of length of time in terms of the analysis of the FDA to get full approval.”
There is also worry of the long term effects, people are wondering what will happen months or years after they are fully vaccinated.
“Certainly, I understand that some folks want to wait and see, but they may be underestimating the risk of getting infected by COVID and actually having long term repercussions. Unequivocally without a doubt the risk of COVID infection versus the risk of the vaccine, the risk of COVID infection is greater, so you have to think about it in that regard,” said Epstein.
Epstein said there is really nothing to worry about for those who want to have children, and they don’t have to worry about their baby having side effects.
“There is no data that show women are more at risk or their pregnancy or their children are at risk subsequently from getting the vaccine. So they will do better in terms of raising a healthy child and having a successful pregnancy by preventing the infection from happening,” he said.
The doctor said that while having the virus does give you immunity, it wears off after a few months.
“There is some early evidence that the strength of the immune response may start to wane after six to eight months,” Epstein said.
Now, healthcare leaders are recommending a booster shot for those who are vaccinated.
Epstein said the hesitancy is because of all the myths and misinformation being spread on social media. Facebook’s officials said they have removed 18 million pieces of content on Facebook and Instagram of inaccurate claims regarding the vaccine.