In Turkey, 15 percent of the society has diabetes and 15 percent has hidden diabetes.
Speaking at the World Sugar Consumption Attention Week event, Istanbul University Endocrinology and Metabolism Department Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Kubilay Karşıdağ said, “15 percent of people in Turkey have diabetes. Another 15 percent have hidden diabetes. When we look at it, almost 15 percent of the social security institution expenditure is spent on diabetes alone and these are very high figures. There is another concept, and that is overweight. One third of the people in Turkey are overweight. These are extraordinarily high numbers. After a while we will not be able to cope with the problems that these are causing. One of the most important things we need to do is to try to prevent this. I mean, it's good to try to treat diabetes, but the best way is to try to prevent diabetes, hidden diabetes and overweight. The way to do these three is to cut down on sugar and sugary things. A person is born, and they never put sugar in their mouth until they die. There is no problem. So if I don't eat table sugar from 0 to 100 years old, I will not have any deficiency. Table sugar is not like fruit, water, milk, meat, cheese, but if we do not eat them, we will not have any deficiency.”
Timur Erk, President of the Turkish Kidney Foundation, drew attention to hidden sources of sugar and stated that excessive sugar consumption is the basis of many diseases, especially kidney disease. Erk said, “Sugar means addiction, Turkey has to reduce sugar consumption. All institutions and especially our people have great duties in this regard. Just as we have reduced salt consumption, we urgently need to reduce sugar consumption.”
5 substances to be avoided in nutrition
Pointing out that sugar must be eliminated, Karşıdağ said, “First of all, we must eliminate sugar. Please do not confuse this with sugar in fruit. These are different concepts. We should definitely eat three handfuls of fruit every day. The measure here is everyone's own handful. But we should stay away from baklava or anything made with fructose. To say something very simple for nutrition. We say stay away from 5 things. Sugar and sugary foods, the criterion here is that if sugar is put into a food while it is being prepared, stay away from it. Stay away from white bread, stay away from rice pilaf, stay away from drinks with added sugar or fructose. Avoid products made outside as much as possible, that's all. Other than that, watch what you eat and drink. On top of that, whatever you do every day, make sure you walk. Depending on our age and capacity, we should walk between 20 and 60 minutes. There are dangers that await us in old age. Treatment is possible, but prevention would be a more appropriate approach. In summary, you can pay attention to and protect yourself from many diseases, especially sugar and excess weight, and many diseases, from cancer to calcification, by not eating only and only sugar in the first place.”
İHA Haber Kodu: 20240922AW292479