If you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes or know someone that has, you may have heard many different things about diabetes already. Here are the top 4 myths surrounding diabetes.

Myth #1 You can get diabetes from eating too much sugar.

Reality: Eating too much sugar will not cause you to get diabetes. Eating too much sugar, however, will cause you to gain weight, have tooth decay and cause other health issues. Also sweets have a lot of carbohydrates and fat which tend to fill you up without giving you any kind of nutritional benefit. While being overweight can trigger the causes of type 2 diabetes, the source of the extra pounds makes little difference.

Myth #2 You can only get type 1 diabetes if someone in your family has it.

Reality: Researchers have identified several different genes that might make a person more likely to develop type 1 diabetes. But, they have not found one single gene that makes all people who inherit it actually develop the disease. One set of genes that may predispose a person to diabetes can be inherited from either your mother or father. So, even though no one in your family has type 1 diabetes, that doesnt mean that you will not get it.

Myth #3 You can have diabetes for a little bit and have it go away.

Reality: Once you have been diagnosed with diabetes, the diabetes does not go away. You may be able to manage your diabetes better as time goes by, tempting you to think that your diabetes is cured. Diabetes is a serious, life-long disease that involves healthy eating and exercise every day.

Myth #4 If you drink enough water you can wash away the extra sugar in your blood and cure my diabetes.

Reality: Extra water intake will not wash away the sugar in your blood.

However, you can control diabetes by eating the right healthy foods, being physically active, controlling your weight, seeing your doctor regularly, taking prescribed medications, and monitoring your blood glucose level