How Does Chinese Medicine View Diabetes?
According to Chinese medicine, this fruit can help regulate blood sugar. (Wingklee/Wikimedia Commons) In Chinese, diabetes may be referred to as “xiao ke” or wasting-thirst syndrome. The cause of wasting-thirst syndrome is understood to be a deficiency of yin in the body, along with a heat pathogen affecting the lungs, stomach, and kidneys. When yin is deficient, heat is produced. When heat is present, it “burns up” yin. Thus, the most common symptoms of diabetes are excessive thirst, hunger, and urination, which are associated with the upper burner, the middle burner, and lower burners, respectively. Diabetes is often referred to as upper burner, middle burner, and lower burner wasting-thirst patterns of disharmony. They are all associated with yin deficiency. In Chinese medicine, it is understood that people who drink alcohol, eat sweet or fatty foods, and lead an irregular, unhealthy, or sedentary lifestyle have a tendency to develop xiao ke syndrome. Emotional disturbances can also
