Canadian Health Awareness Society : Resources

Diabetes is number three killer after Coronary artery heart disease and cancer. Particularly, the prevalence of type II diabetes is increasing currently. Most of type II diabetes patients are symptom free in its early stage. Some of these patients are diagnosed through regular annual physical check-up. If a diabetes patient has the symptoms such as eat more, thirsty, and urinate frequently but body weight decrease, which indicates the diabetes has at lest developed into middle stage. If the patient has above symptoms plus limbs infection or eye problem or dysfunction of heart/kidney, that implies the disease has gotten worse in late stage. If the condition has not been controlled well, life threading is inevitable.

From above discussion, it takes time from a diabetes patient to develop into late stage from early one. We understand that diabetes won’t happen over night but needs decade or few decades to get worse. Although Western Medicine has reached molecular level to understand the pathology of this disease, its treatment remains controlling symptoms. It is still long way to go in turns of curing diabetes. This is why the slogan of “preventing better than treating diabetes” is gaining more acceptances in medical community.

How to prevent suffering from diabetes? From theoretical and practical aspects, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has something to offer. According to TCM doctrine, a patient who manifests above symptoms will be classified into “Xiao He” syndrome. It is due to irregular diet habit or emotional imbalance or indulgent sexual activity. Its basic pathogenesis is “yin deficiency and dryness-heat”. From TCM viewpoint, the author will explain what is called “yin deficiency and dryness-heat”.

To avoid medical jargon, “yin deficiency refers to the function of yin aspect in human body no enough. When we talk about yin aspect, it must involve in yang aspect as well. Yin and yang aspects represent the opposite and mutual dependence of two aspects. Anything with exciting or upward tendency will belong to yang aspect; anything with inhabit or downward tendency will belong to yin aspect. If we use this doctrine to apply to blood sugar regulation, we will find that anything can elevate blood sugar will be classified as yang aspect function; anything can lower blood sugar will be called yin aspect function.

We know from biomedical science that there are at lest six hormones which can increase blood sugar level (yang aspect) but there is only one hormone which can decrease blood sugar level (yin aspect). From TCM viewpoint, the situation such like six yang verse one yin will be called “hyper yang vs. deficiency yin”. When we are hungry, blood sugar level will be lower. This condition will trigger the function of yang aspect of the hormones. The result will keep the blood sugar in a normal level in order to sustain basic life need. On the other side, when we intake food, blood sugar level in an upward trend. Therefore the function of yin aspect of the hormone will be activated. The excess sugar will be converted into glycogens and then it will be stored in cells. The blood sugar level will be stay in normal level.

Basic on this understanding, if we are always over eating, that will increase the demand of yin aspect of hormone. Beginning the yin aspect of hormone can compensate the demand of yin function. Through years of high demand of yin function as well as we were born with the “hyper yang and deficiency yin”, the yin function will be exhausted at some point where the blood sugar level keeps in higher level. Then the diagnosis of diabetes is found. Therefore diabetes is the result of yin aspect deficiency.

By understanding above discussion, if we try to reduce the demand of yin aspect function which can lower blood sugar, preventing diabetes can be achieved. This is why we always get the messages from doctors which are: watch out careful what do you eat; do not over eat high sugar food and high calories foods; eat more fruits or vegetable. By this way we reduce the demand for yin aspect function and prevent diabetes happen. The high calories foods and fatty food can easily be converted into sugar and be absorbed quickly into blood stream and increase the demand of yin aspect function. Fruits and vegetables content large quantity of fiber. They can slow down the absorption of sugar and also can decrease the craving for food. Therefore they can reduce the demand of yin aspect function.

Above discussion on the pathogenesis of TCM about diabetes, yin deficiency is its root (primary) while dry-heat is its branch (secondary). Both of them can mutually be cause and consequence. Since we have understood how to prevent yin deficiency, how about preventing dry-heat? In diabetes, dry-heat is the product of internal pathogen. It has various magnifications such as unsmooth skin; dryness of throat and eye; fragile nail; constipation; yellow and cloudy urine; insomnia or palpitation. In order to reduce the product of internal dry-heat, we should avoid spicy food; cigarette; alcohol; fried food. These kinds of food have acrid-warm property. They tend to disperse yin and exhaust body fluid. It is not good for diabetes patients.

Besides of watching out what do we eat, keeping emotional balance is another important aspect in turns of prevent diabetes. According to biomedical science, if we stress out, the stress hormones such as adrenine will increase secretion. This hormone can increase blood sugar and lead to increase the demand of yin aspect function. From TCM viewpoint, when we stress out, the movement of qi gets stagnant. As time goes by, the stagnant qi will turn into internal heat. The internal heat can flare up to exhaust stomach fluid as well as downward to damage kidney essence. Eventually diabetes will appear when the situation continues going.

There is different view in turns of relationship between indulgent sexual activities and diabetes. From TCM viewpoint, indulgent sex will lead to deplete of kidney essence. Kidney essence belongs to yin essence. It will cause yin deficiency it the kidney essence depletes. A yin deficiency will generate internal heat. Stomach fluid may be damaged by internal heat. At the end both kidney essence deficiency and stomach excessive heat will develop into diabetes.

Now we understand the etiology and pathogenesis of diabetes. We should always keep in mind the following three points in order to prevent suffering from diabetes:

• watch out what you eat;
• keep emotional balance and reduce stress level;
• avoid indulgent sex activities.