Taking Charge Of Your Diabetes With Some Chinese Help!
Diabetes is one of the few diseases, the fallacies about which far outnumber the facts. The reasons behind this are many. For one, diabetes is still a disease which has still not been completely explored and with every development, there pops up a bundle of half-truths which can be as counter-effective as they are misinformed. Also, many not-so-scrupulous entrepreneurs, who are looking to make a quick buck, hop on to the diabetes bandwagon with their self-proclaimed infallible cures, which further add to all the erroneous beliefs about diabetes. On a secondary level, these misconceptions also lead the layman to distrust several other alternative ways of treating diabetes, some of which may even be more beneficial than the one he is accustomed to. A noteworthy example of such highly misunderstood forms of diabetes treatment is traditional Chinese medicine.
Evidence indicates that the Chinese may have been one of the very first to recognize diabetes and construct a system of diabetes treatment. In fact, ancient Chinese medical literature documents the treatment of this disease with Chinese herbs well over 2,000 years ago. The Chinese diagnosis of diabetes, its causes and treatment can also be heralded as amongst the most effective given the fact that the incidence of diabetes in China is only about 0.67%, which when compared to the American occurrence of 2.2%, is a very remarkable figure indeed.
Chinese medicine is also known to abide by the principle of treating every stage of diabetes individually and as per the particular characteristics which are typical to it which is also a practice adopted by more modern Western physicians. The Chinese moniker for diabetes is depletion-thirst disease, which refers to the excessive urination that the high levels of blood glucose, which are a basic characteristic of this disease, bring about. What's more, the Chinese method of treating diabetes begins right at the pre-diabetic phase, which is believed to be brought about by an imbalance in the body's yin, yang and qi, which in turn brings about a host of complications.
Chinese medicine characterizes pre-diabetes by a deficiency of yin in the body, triggering the release of a tremendous amount of heat within the body. Treatment at this stage includes herbs like glehnia, adenophora and asparagus root which serve a dual purpose of nourishing the yin and augmenting the fluid levels in the body, while also healing the lungs, heart and stomach. These herbs also prevent the heat in the body from developing into 'Dry Heat' which bears with it a host of more severe implications.
The second stage is when the deficiency of yin causes dry heat to develop which damages the qi and the yin, thus bringing about both yin and yang deficiencies. This stage is treated with herbs which restore the qi like ginseng, astragalus, and atractylodes. These herbs focus on symptoms like fatigue, digestive imbalances, which also include excessive appetite, which conventional practices term as arising from hypoglycemia. This stage is known to swiftly progress into the third and most crucial phases, where the symptoms are more aggravated and the yin, yang and qi deficiencies even more severe. The herbs which are administered at this stage function as kidney and liver tonics and include cinnamon, aconite and cornus. This level of treatment also focuses on increasing the blood circulation, which is yet another common and severe problem, faced by victims of this disease.
Chinese dietary patterns play a crucial role in keeping the disease from growing into its more mature phases, while also safeguarding the vulnerable from developing this condition. Some of the more influential factors include the absence of saturates found in diary products, which the Chinese rarely consume and the inclusion of the Chinese yam, bitter melon and ginseng tea as a part of their daily nourishment. These three elements alone are powerful allies to diabetes control on account of their blood glucose reducing properties.
In view of the severe drawbacks the side effects of allopathic medications bring about, researchers have begun to study Chinese medicines with a newfound interest, lauding its scientific, structured approach and highly impressive results. A large number of therapies have already been approved for widespread use, while several others are still under study. Diabetic treatments are many and varied in their approach, each boasting of their own repertoire of advantages, while also their unique limitations. The moot point here is that help is always ready at hand provided you take the initiative and the first step. So if you are letting your one, tiny mental block stop you from exploring alternative avenues, rid yourself of that one roadblock right away you'll be delighted at the array of opportunities that accompany your disease-free way of life!