Diabetes is a common disease, but it is also one of the most divergent conditions between Eastern and Western medical treatments. Different perspectives dominate different treatment directions, leading to different treatment outcomes. Western medicine emphasizes a single hypoglycemic treatment that requires lifelong medication. What about Chinese medicine? Can lowering blood sugar cure diabetes? What is the real cause of high blood sugar and high urine sugar? What internal organ functions are closely related to diabetes in TCM? Why does TCM treat diabetes as a disease of the spleen, stomach and digestive system? Why do different body types have different treatment methods? …… There are reasons and methods and truths, take your time to taste ……
A. Know the right and wrong, understand the yin and yang, support the righteousness as the outline
Let’s first understand the positive energy of people. As the saying goes, “People fight for a breath of air, Buddha fights for a pillar of incense”, what does this mean? It means that when a person has gas and heat, he or she has life; when he or she is cold and has no heat, he or she is dead: this is also a common saying. So the body’s positive energy is no more than two kinds, one is heat, this heat is called Yang Qi; the other is called gas, the gas Chinese medicine usually divided into Yuan Qi, Zong Qi, Wei Qi, Ying Qi, etc..
The human body positive energy is most afraid of what things? It is the side of them that they are in conflict with each other, called evil qi, disease qi. What are the evil qi? We all know that the six evils cause disease, so let’s briefly state a few issues. First, let’s talk about “wind”. “The wind can blow the qi away, which is an appearance. It is specifically damaged the body’s vital energy, external evil push, the body will be reduced, resistance will naturally decline. Then we talk about the “cold”, the evil of Yin and cold is dedicated to grasp the heat, heat is most afraid of Yin and cold, it mainly damages the body’s Yang, the organs of the warm function will be out of balance, the entire digestive system will be impaired, the intake of some nutrients will be difficult to absorb, physical fitness is bound to decline, can cause a variety of diseases, of course, diabetes is not far from its roots. The third “damp”, “heavy turbidity and invisible”, is sticky, glues, obstructs qi, damages yang qi, and stays in the spleen, making it impossible for the spleen to perform its functions despite its potential, so its pathology is not easy to treat.
Let’s go back to Yang Qi. In nature, if Yang Qi is strong, grass and trees will flourish; if Yang Qi is weak, grass and trees will wither. People who are too old or sickly and have a weakened body need even more nourishment. It is easier to coordinate the regeneration of yin, fluid, essence and blood, but it is difficult to recover from the loss of yang. If you help Yang, then Yang will produce Yin and grow, and the essence and blood will naturally be abundant; conversely, Yang will weaken and Qi will easily perish. The problem of thirst, many people in the clinic think that Yin deficiency and dryness and heat are the symptoms and Yang deficiency is the root.
I also agree with this concept. As the saying goes, “if the kidney qi is strong, life is prolonged; if the kidney qi is weak, life is short”, not to mention the fact that when one sees thirst, one invests in products that nourish yin and suppress yang with yin. The yin and yang are isolated, the heat on the cold, resulting in a cold-hot mix, which inevitably leads to Yang failure, causing cold condensation is difficult to eliminate. Another nourishing yin products are most likely to hinder the spleen and stomach.
And then the gas. Qi is also the life of the human body, people without Qi will die. For the disease caused by the failure of the righteousness, it depends on the Wei Qi to generate resistance. Avoid cold to support the Wei Qi, forbid sexual intercourse to support the kidney Qi, abstain from bathing to support the liver Qi. Most diabetic patients are suffering from Qi deficiency, usually with symptoms such as weakness of the limbs, fatigue, lack of breath and lazy speech, white face, dizziness and tinnitus, palpitations and shortness of breath. The tongue is pale, the tongue coating is slippery, some even have teeth marks, and the pulse is mostly sunken and thin or weak. Qi deficiency will produce lesions.
Therefore, in the treatment, we should examine the authenticity of the cold and heat, identify the nature of its deficiency and take the support of the correct qi as the outline.
Second, can lowering blood sugar treat diabetes?
Talk about diabetes and kidney function and a contradiction here.
When the kidney function is malfunctioning, it cannot properly collect and seal, and a large amount of nutrients will be lost with urine, leading to overall weakness and causing wasting diseases. A series of symptoms are produced, such as bleeding at the bottom of the eyes, blurred vision, loss of vision, panic, heartburn, sweating, back pain, general weakness, body itching, numbness of the limbs, poor sleep, and weight loss. These symptoms should have increased nutrition (we will talk more about “nutrition” later), but eating more will make people feel that blood sugar will rise. But alone, lowering blood sugar, avoiding food, controlling diet, long-term lack of nutrition, resistance will be worse, gastrointestinal function is weakened, food can not be transformed into fresh blood, the body does not get enough nutrients supply, spill over to other visceral pathologies, must be unfavorable. So there is a contradiction here, many patients and even doctors are very headache this point.
The drug can only play a role in the body’s internal organ system to lower the effect of sugar, alone with Western medicine, including insulin, not that it can not lower blood sugar, but even if the blood sugar down is useless. The blood sugar will go back up after the power of the medicine, so you can only increase the amount or change the medicine, and if after a period of time or can not lower blood sugar, you can only take other more powerful means, such as insulin injections or oral insulin. So in essence lowering blood sugar is equal to no treatment, and will damage the liver and kidneys, such a method will never cure diabetes. We must change this concept and correctly take the proven measures of Chinese medicine and comprehensive conditioning in order to truly recover our health.
Third, re-acquaintance with diabetes
Then let’s get reacquainted with diabetes. At present in the medical field, Chinese medicine or Western medicine, each has its own term. Most Chinese doctors believe that diabetes is what ancient medicine calls “thirst evidence”, mainly due to the deficiency of yin and dry heat, and excessive consumption of fat and sweet, etc. Clinical use of nourishing products to clear heat and nourish yin, or strengthen the spleen and benefit qi to achieve therapeutic effects. However, the clinical effect is not satisfactory. Western medicine believes that diabetes is an endocrine system disease, with a series of symptoms of hyperglycemia caused by pancreatic secretion dysfunction and insulin antagonism or deficiency. In this way, diabetic patients may have to take medication for life, and even the more medication they take, the worse their physical state becomes, and the situation is not optimistic.
We have analyzed the current situation of both, and both are not optimistic. So should we not step out of this circle and analyze properly what is the disease of diabetes?
First of all, what is sugar?
Sugar is a subtle energy substance, a nutrient that the body depends on for survival. If there is a balance of glucose in the body, the body is strong and energetic.
What is the source of sugar?
The source of glucose in the body is the food (fat, protein), which will be transformed into glucose through the decomposition and reintegration of internal organs, some of which can be used directly; some will be transformed into liver and stored in the liver in the form of liver glycogen, which will be secreted from the liver when hungry to solve the hunger; some will be transformed into fat and stored in the body, which will be transformed into glucose when needed by the internal organs. Glucose is used again. Glucose in the blood is absorbed, transformed and decomposed by the internal organs, and then transported through the blood to various tissues and organs to provide energy supply and maintain life activities.
What is the reason for high blood sugar?
After glucose intake, if the digestive function or liver function has difficulty in absorption, conversion and decomposition, the sugar molecule particles will increase in size and cannot enter the cells, and then remain in the blood, resulting in high blood glucose, and then high blood glucose in the biochemical test of diabetes.
What is the reason for high urine sugar?
Because the reabsorption function of the kidneys is damaged, some sugar can only be lost in the urine, which causes a positive urine sugar test. There will also be a feeling of thirst, but the blood sugar is normal. This condition is mostly seen in chronic nephritis, and nephrotic syndrome.
Fourth, diabetes is actually a digestive system disease
This is a series of functional diseases and clinical symptoms caused by digestive system disorders, we should pay attention to the clinical evidence to give up the words of lowering sugar, accurately diagnose the disease mechanism, prescribe the right medicine, the disease is receding blood sugar naturally, the efficacy is also more significant. So I personally believe that diabetes is actually a digestive system disease, glucose has not been effectively converted for a long time, or not treated in the correct way, is a glucose energy deficiency. The energy material to maintain life activities depends on glucose and trace elements in the acquired food intake. When the heat energy of the internal organs is insufficient or the digestive system has functional disorders, the glucose and trace elements in the ingested food are difficult to absorb or digest, and the energy is lost or retained in the blood, so that the functions of the internal organs are malfunctioning due to the lack of glucose energy supply, which leads to diseases.
For example, diabetes rotten feet, if we take the law of the qi replenishment, we can use many methods, such as topical glucose powder or marshmallow, monosaccharide or polysaccharide food can be, if there are fresh leaves of the stevia plant pounded on the outside can also be. Usually I use calcined plaster and cotton candy or glucose powder to distribute a good proportion of bottled, when used can be taken to the patient at any time, sprinkled on the wound or put on it, the light once a day change, serious twice a day change, soon healing. No need for any medicine, just use sugar to put on it, it will soon get energy supply and it will heal. Thus, it is well proven that the spleen and pancreas like sweet food. It is known that the spleen is the master of the limbs and the spleen is the master of transportation. When the body is completely lacking in glucose energy, both the spleen and the pancreas are in a state of starvation and are incapable of pushing qi and blood and energy, and even less capable of pushing nutrients to the ends of the limbs, resulting in the rotten diabetic foot not being healed. I think the principle is here.
Five, the causative factors of diabetes
1, Yin Sheng Yang deficiency, too much Yin cold, intake of food such as glucose food, its trace elements can not be dissolved to the smallest sugar particle molecules. Insufficient heat, then the body’s cells are not nourished, resulting in resistance, immunity, most likely to induce a variety of diseases, not to mention diabetes.
For example, take two cups with equal amounts of water and equal amounts of sugar, one cup is hot water and one cup is cool water, the hot water represents healthy people and the cool water or room temperature water represents diabetics. The glucose in the hot water immediately gets highly dissolved, with no precipitate or only a small amount of precipitate visible, and the dissolved sugar molecules are small enough to facilitate cellular absorption. In contrast, glucose in a cup of warm water can also be dissolved, but the particles of dissolved sugar molecules are relatively larger than those in hot water, and a large amount of glucose precipitate can be seen, which is not easily absorbed by the cells. Just like precipitation in the blood in the body, it will certainly cause blood sugar to rise. Tests show that: cold body usually digestive malfunction, so that the intake of glucose into the body is difficult to dissolve again, more detrimental to the absorption of cells, the glucose in the blood is bound to exceed the standard, the formation of high blood sugar.
2. Dampness traps the spleen and earth. The spleen and pancreas are two twin brothers, the physiological function is basically similar, also have the same characteristics, like warm and dry, like sweet, most afraid of wet and turbid. However, the division of labor between the two is different. The spleen regulates blood, which is the source of blood biochemistry; the pancreas regulates fluid, which is the source of fluid biochemistry. The pancreas has the ability to coordinate yin and yang and self-regulate the balance of blood sugar, and is mainly assisted by the bile and small intestine to complete digestion. The normal working hours are from 3:00 a.m. to 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., and the intensity of work is concentrated in the morning from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m. The rest of the time is in a resting state. So people who are fond of eating late at night have too much load on their spleen and pancreas, and are most likely to suffer from diabetes. Moreover, dampness is one of the pathological products of the six mirths and likes to stick to the pancreas and spleen, and oily foods such as fried foods are most likely to produce dampness.
When the spleen or pancreas is in a state of deficiency, or too much load, or when the digestive system is malfunctioning, it fails to remove the dampness in the body, and the dampness sticks to the pancreas, and over time forms an envelope, which is bound by the dampness and cannot travel its power, and loses its function of regulating fluid, coordinating solid yang and regulating blood sugar balance, and diabetes occurs.
3. The liver and spleen are not in harmony. The liver is an important organ that regulates the constant blood sugar concentration and has the energy metabolism function of reserving liver glycogen. If the storage function of the liver is malfunctioning, it cannot accept the instruction of the spleen to deliver liver glycogen for storage, thus reducing the resistance and affecting the function of the digestive system. In general, TCM clinical coordination of liver and spleen disharmony often uses the method of pungent opening and bitter lowering, and many combinations of drugs, the simplest ones such as Huang Lian and Wu Zhu Zhu, and then such as Radix et Rhubarb and Cinnamon and Huang Lian.
4, excess nutrition or excessive energy consumption. With the improvement of living standards, long-term consumption of refined foods and a large amount of refined sugar, can promote the excretion of trace elements in the body, resulting in the lack of trace elements, can also lead to pancreatic dysfunction to form diabetes. 09 years there is a sick six-year diabetic patient, she is busy working every day, diet, hungry and still working, at first no problem, because the liver can break down some liver glycogen to eliminate her hunger At first, it was fine because the liver could break down some liver glycogen to eliminate her hunger. When blood sugar is low, glucagon will continue to rise to balance the body state. If glucagon is secreted for too long, it will cause blood glucose to rise. Therefore, irregular diet, long-term starvation, or starvation diet, etc. cause heavy energy consumption, resulting in serious damage to the function of the pancreas, malfunction of digestion, and disorder of blood sugar regulation, causing blood sugar to rise and diabetes to occur. Here there are two problems, one is how to deal with the problem of excess nutrition; the second is how to deal with overconsumption.
5. Depletion of yin evil. The depletion of yin evil stimulates the central nerve and sympathetic nerve in an excited state, stimulates growth hormone, thyroxine and adrenaline excitement, causing digestive function to be affected, and over time digestive function becomes impaired, causing habitual constipation and triggering high blood sugar. Long-term staying up late, emotional depression, high work pressure, alcoholism, excessive sexual life, etc., all these factors will lead to the depletion of yin evil.
Six, distinguish between high blood sugar and urine sugar
Hyperglycemia is not the same as diabetes. Hyperglycemia is the excess of blood sugar in the blood, and there is no clinical manifestation or syndrome, fundamentally it is not diabetes. Urine sugar is a complication of hyperglycemia, and is close to the state of thirst disease.
Diabetes mellitus and its diagnosis and treatment from the viewpoint of physical constitution
Hyperglycemia is not the same as diabetes mellitus. Hyperglycemia is the excess of blood glucose in the blood, and there is no clinical manifestation or syndrome in the clinic, so fundamentally it is not diabetes. Urine sugar is a complication of hyperglycemia, and it is close to the state of thirst disease, and “three more and one less” is the clinical diagnosis.
First, people with Yang Ming constitution
Just like Guan Yu who is physically strong, can eat, sleep and work, but always has constipation, constipation will lead to the depletion of yin. Therefore, such patients are prone to manifest symptoms and lesions of the Yangming system when they fall ill, drink more, eat more, have difficulty in relieving stools, and further develop diabetic gastrointestinal disease, diabetic encephalopathy, diabetic nephropathy, etc. Usual clinical manifestations include the evidence of Increasing Liquid and Cheng Qi Tang, Huang Lian Diarrhea Heart Tang, Da Huang Lian Diarrhea Heart Tang, and Elevation and Dissolution. Here I would like to remind you to think about how to use the medicine selection or choose the treatment method for people with Yang Ming constitution suffering from diabetes.
Second, people with Shao-Yin constitution
For example, Zhuge Liang, who is weak, long and thin, good at thinking, and usually prone to insomnia. Such patients with the disease are prone to show symptoms of Shao-Yin systemic lesions, such as heart trouble, insomnia, abnormal urination, heart dysfunction, etc. The complications of diabetes are usually heart disease, kidney disease, impotence and other lesions. Mostly, they are the evidence of Ba Wei Di Huang Tang, the evidence of Kidney Qi Wan, and the evidence of Zhen Wu Tang.
Third, people with Shao Yang constitution
For example, Lin Daiyu, plainly weak, introverted and more melancholy, sentimental. She is prone to diseases of the Shaoyang system: depression, bitterness and fullness in the chest, bitterness in the mouth and dryness in the throat, etc. She will further develop diabetic retinopathy. In fact, as long as the Shaoyang constitution people, high blood sugar complications such as flying mosquitoes, blurred vision and other eye diseases, can be Xiao Chai Hu Tang plus or minus, or add flavor Prosperity San, Four Reverse San, etc. to solve the problem.
Fourth, people with syncopal body constitution
Like Zhang Fei, he is impatient, easily angered, and not good at controlling his emotions, and is a “madman”. This kind of patient is prone to manifesting the pathology of the syncope system: impatience and irritability, dizziness and headache, or even vomiting blood, or some people are prone to diarrhea as soon as they eat, and are prone to complication of hypertension, further development of diabetes mellitus, blurred vision, diabetes mellitus heart and brain system disease, diabetes mellitus nephropathy, etc. There are Jian Tuan Tang evidence, Dihuang Wan evidence, Bai Zhu and Shao Yao San evidence, etc.
Fifth, people with Taiyin constitution
Taiyin constitution can be divided into three major categories, one is Taiyin Qi deficiency, one is Taiyin Yang deficiency, and one is Taiyin Dampness obstruction. If Taiyin Qi is deficient, the human body is weak and has insufficient physical strength, and diarrhea easily occurs when eating cold food or oily products, and the onset of the disease is easily manifested as abdominal distension, abdominal pain, distension, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Taiyin-Yang deficiency is usually afraid of cold, the extremities are not warm, often abdominal fullness and cold pain, vomiting and diarrhea, etc. Taiyin dampness obstruction is obviously characterized by a deficient body type, the onset of which usually manifests as headache, heavy limbs, distention and fullness of the abdomen, sticky mouth, unpleasant stools, stools so sticky that the toilet cannot be flushed, and further development of peripheral neuropathy common in diabetes. It can appear as Ginseng and Atractylodesis evidence, Ginseng Tang evidence, and Ping Gastrodia evidence. Some people will ask, “How come there are no people with solar constitution? The reason is that people with solar constitution have a very strong constitution and can be cured quickly after they fall ill, and they can recover after taking a little medicine, so people with this constitution are not prone to diabetes.
People with different body types will have different systemic symptoms and further complications when they have diabetes. The physical constitution is the basis for the occurrence and development of diabetes and its complications, and it is because of this constitution that the disease is developed, and it is because of this disease that the symptoms are manifested. The identification of the body is the basis for the identification of the disease, the identification of the disease is a link closely related to the identification of the evidence, and the identification of the evidence is the key to the decision of the use of drugs and prescriptions. This dialectic method is collectively known as the dialectic model of identifying the physical constitution, identifying the disease, and identifying the evidence, which focuses on identifying the physical constitution. The first thing to look at the person’s physique is to know what the problem is, reflecting the treatment seeking the root of the disease, emphasizing the identification of the disease, that is, emphasizing the basic pathogenesis of the occurrence and development of diabetes and its complications, emphasizing the identification of the prescription and the evidence, emphasizing the use of the prescription with the evidence, and using the medicine in a targeted manner, which can break through and highlight the advantages of individualized treatment in Chinese medicine. It can be used clinically for the treatment of diabetes and its complications and often achieve very satisfactory results. When using medicine, it is advocated that in the principle of treatment, only one or two or three or five medicines should be found to solve the key point of diabetes suffered by people with sycotic body constitution, which should not be too complicated and cumbersome, but to simplify the complicated things.