Google Autocomplete Series: Can Type 1 Diabetes…?
People living with type 1 diabetes and their loved ones often turn to Google for quick answers to some common questions. Although search engines are a good way to gain general information in between appointments with your diabetes team, they do need to be looked at with a critical eye. It is always a good idea to confirm the information that you have found on the internet with your diabetes healthcare team and ask them how it is relevant to you.
In this article series, we’ve provided research-backed answers to eight of the most common questions typed into Google that starts with the phrase “Can Type 1 Diabetes…?”
1. Can People Living With Type 1 Diabetes Eat Chocolate?
Google Autocomplete Search Phrase: Can Type 1 Diabetes Eat Chocolate
In general, people living with type 1 diabetes can eat almost any food. The key is that individual food choices should fit into an overall healthy and balanced diet that helps them manage their blood glucose. However, many chocolates are high in refined sweeteners which may cause spikes in your blood glucose. Most chocolates also contain high levels of saturated fat which should generally be avoided to protect your heart health.1
Together with your diabetes healthcare team, you may choose to eat chocolate every once in a while. In general, health professionals often recommend dark chocolate varieties or those that are sweetened with non-caloric sweeteners. Chocolate with less added sugar may help you maintain more stable blood glucose.
2. Can Type 1 Diabetes Be Reversed?
Google Autocomplete Search Phrase: Can type 1 diabetes be reversed
Unfortunately, there is no cure for type 1 diabetes, and it cannot be reversed. At the moment, there is a lot of research looking at the development of gene therapy for type 1 diabetes. Gene therapies are those that integrate or modulate genes that have an impact on insulin production. These novel therapies may benefit people living with type 1 diabetes.2
3. Can Type 1 Diabetes Be Fatal?
Google Autocomplete Search Phrase: Can type 1 diabetes be fatal
Type 1 diabetes, like almost all chronic and autoimmune conditions, can be fatal if it is not managed well. Since people living with type 1 diabetes are unable to produce insulin, they need to get insulin from external sources, like injections and insulin pumps. Insulin therapy should be integrated with a balanced diet, rest and sleep, hydration, and physical activity.2 People living with type 1 diabetes can live full, healthy lives when precautions are taken, and insulin therapy guidelines are followed closely.
4. Can Type 1 Diabetes Go Away?
Google Autocomplete Search Phrase: Can type 1 diabetes go away
Since type 1 diabetes doesn’t have a cure, it cannot go away. People who are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes will be living with this condition for their entire lives.2 However, the development of technology, treatments, education, and therapies, and understanding of lifestyle choices that help manage diabetes have come a long way in the past several decades.3
Now, people diagnosed with type 1 diabetes can live full lives without their condition getting in the way of their goals and desired way of life.
5. Can Type 1 Diabetes Turn Into Type 2 Diabetes?
Google Autocomplete Search Phrase: Can type 1 diabetes turn into type 2
Type 1 and type 2 diabetes have a lot in common, but they are two distinct conditions with different causes. Therefore, one does not transform into another over time.
6. Can Type 1 Diabetes Be Managed By Diet?
Google Autocomplete Search Phrase: Can type 1 diabetes be controlled by diet
Type 1 diabetes can be managed effectively by eating a balanced diet, following insulin and medication indications, and leading an overall healthy lifestyle.4 In general, type 1 diabetes cannot be managed solely by diet because the body is unable to produce insulin. Insulin is needed by the cells to make use of the energy, in the form of glucose, that circulates in the bloodstream.
Therefore, while the diet is a vital component of diabetes management, it cannot work alone when it comes to diabetes management.
As a note for the reader, diabetes cannot be controlled, but it can be managed. There are too many variables that affect a person living with diabetes’ blood glucose and insulin levels. In this sense, a person can be eating well, resting, exercising, and following their insulin regimen closely but still have high glucose levels without much explanation. While researchers know a lot about how to manage diabetes symptoms and markers, there is no way to control exactly what happens in the body.
This is why the term controlled is not accurate. While we cannot control glucose levels, we can manage them more effectively using insulin pumps and pens.
7. Can People Living With Type 1 Diabetes Eat Sugar?
Google Autocomplete Search Phrase: Can type 1 diabetes eat sugar
Foods with added sugar should generally be eaten sparingly, whether you are a person living with type 1 diabetes or not. While people living with type 1 diabetes don’t need to cut out sugar from their diet, people living with type 1 diabetes need to be especially careful about added sugar consumption because it can cause spikes in blood glucose levels.5
While you should always speak with your diabetes healthcare team about personalised guidance about diet, including added sugar consumption, it is generally safe to assume that you should avoid it when possible. If you feel like eating something sweet, naturally sweet foods, like fruit, can be readily integrated into the diet. Non-nutritive sweeteners can be used to sweeten foods and beverages as desired.
8. Can Type 1 Diabetes Develop Later on in Life?
Google Autocomplete Search Phrase: Can type 1 diabetes develop later on in life
Yes. Type 1 diabetes used to be called juvenile diabetes because it was thought to develop only in childhood. Even though most cases of type 1 diabetes do develop early on in life, researchers now know that type 1 diabetes can develop at any stage of life.6
Final Thoughts
It is absolutely normal and healthy to be curious about what type 1 diabetes is, how to manage it, and how it might affect your everyday life. While Google and other search engines are great resources to find information that you are curious about quickly. However, information online is often abbreviated, may be outdated, and is not specific to your needs. The most up-to-date answers come from published studies research organisations, and public health institutions.
It is vital to remember that each person living with type 1 diabetes is on their own unique journey. Therefore, it is important to speak with your diabetes healthcare team about how generalised information and recommendations may or may not apply to you. Finally, you can use that information to feel empowered and live life to the fullest.
References
- Diabetes UK. Chocolate and diabetes. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/ . 2022. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/chocolate-and-diabetes. (Accessed July 2022).
- Diabetes Research Institute Foundation. Is There a Cure for Type 1 Diabetes?. https://www.diabetesresearch.org/ . 2021. Available at: https://www.diabetesresearch.org/type-1-diabetes-cure. (Accessed July 2022).
- Chellappan, D. K., Sivam, N. S., Teoh, K. X., Leong, W. P., Fui, T. Z., Chooi, K., Khoo, N., Yi, F. J., Chellian, J., Cheng, L. L., Dahiya, R., Gupta, G., Singhvi, G., Nammi, S., Hansbro, P. M., & Dua, K. (2018). Gene therapy and type 1 diabetes mellitus. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 108, 1188–1200.
- University of Florida Diabetes Institute. Type 1 Diabetes Nutrition. https://diabetes.ufl.edu/ . 2021. Available at: https://diabetes.ufl.edu/outreach/resources/nutrition/type-1-diabetes/ (Accessed July 2022).
- Diabetes UK. Sugar and diabetes. https://www.diabetes.org.uk/ .2020. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/enjoy-food/eating-with-diabetes/food-groups/sugar-and-diabetes (Accessed July 2022).
- Leslie, R. D., Evans-Molina, C., Freund-Brown, J., Buzzetti, R., Dabelea, D., Gillespie, K. M., Goland, R., Jones, A. G., Kacher, M., Phillips, L. S., Rolandsson, O., Wardian, J. L., & Dunne, J. L. (2021). Adult-Onset Type 1 Diabetes: Current Understanding and Challenges. Diabetes Care, 44(11), 2449–2456.