As with many chronic illnesses, there’s often a lot of uncertainty. And type 2 diabetes is no different. So I wanted to discuss the top four myths about Type two diabetes that I hear.

And make sure to check out number four, because it’s the one I hear most often!

If you’re new here, I’m Jo and I want to help raise awareness around type two diabetes. From personal experiences as well as expert research.  

I also share things that I do to live a healthier lifestyle,  including exercise and diet, so that I can reduce my risk of getting type two diabetes.

Myth number one

Type two diabetes is mild

Often people will think that type two diabetes is a mild version of type one diabetes. But actually, both are serious forms of diabetes. They just have different causes and treatments.

In case you’re not aware, type one diabetes is where people are producing too little insulin other. Whereas type two diabetes is where you are producing too much insulin.

Plus type one diabetes is not related to lifestyle.

Currently, research suggests that type one diabetes could be triggered by genetics or viruses, and it’s often diagnosed in children, but it can also be diagnosed in adulthood. Type two diabetes is just as serious because you can still get complications from type two diabetes if it’s uncontrolled.

Myth number two

It only affects people who are overweight

Yes, there can be more risk if you’ve got a BMI rating that classes you as overweight, but it’s not just weight that plays a part in this.

And a good example of that is Dr. Michael Mosley.

So it doesn’t mean that being in the normal BMI range, that you are not at risk.

The main factor of being at risk of type two diabetes is your diet and lifestyle, and your genetics do play a small part in that as well.

Myth number three

Only older people get type two diabetes

Nope. It used to be called adult-onset diabetes because it was only normally diagnosed in people later on in life. In fact, that’s what my Dads was called when he was diagnosed with it.

But due to the  standard Western diet now with the sugary drinks, the takeaways, all of the snacks, and the easy access to all of these, it’s now also being diagnosed in kids and teens.

Myth number four

I’m guaranteed because it’s in my family

This is a personal one for me because my Dad had type two diabetes. His Mum and Dad had type two diabetes and for all of them, they got it later on in life.

But I heard a great quote recently and it was:

“Your jeans are the loaded gun, but your diet and lifestyle pull the trigger.”

And that resonates very much so with me because I know that my Dad and my Nan and Granddad didn’t have the healthiest of lifestyles.

And when I look at all the research done now that’s around type two diabetes, it really fits in with the way they lived their life and their lifestyle in that, it’s not surprising that they did get type two diabetes.

So if you have a family history of type two diabetes and it’s in your genes, you can be more at risk of getting the disease. But by living a healthier lifestyle, you are helping to hopefully reduce that risk.

Of course, there are no guarantees with anything. But by preparing your body, feeding it healthy, clean whole foods, and also reducing your  sugar, watching for the added sugars that are in processed and you know, sugary drinks and things like that.

And also moving regularly, trying to reduce your stress, and getting as much good sleep as possible.

None of us have a guarantee that we’re not gonna get certain diseases, or certain illnesses, but there are things that we can do to reduce our risk and give our body the best fighting chances possible.

If you’re looking to make some healthy lifestyle changes, check out my free Break up with Sugar guide for help on healthy sugar swaps, reading ingredient labels, and more.