Here at Washington State Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine, we use holistic alternatives to conventional medicine that have given our clients excellent results. One of the services we provide is for the treatment of diabetes. Raymond Chan provides a different point of view to treat diabetes using Traditional Chinese Medicinal (TCM) techniques.
In medicine, diabetes is a lifelong disease that cannot be cured. Techniques of Western medicine treatment focus on limiting sugar intake or reducing glucose index. Raymond has a different perspective. His understanding is that the body needs sugar to work properly and produce enough energy to stay active. To limit sugar intake seems effective in lowering blood sugar level, but is not proficient for the long term nor treating the root cause of diabetes.
This is the difference between Chinese and Western practices. Chinese medicine focuses on the “root cause” which is imbalance of or among organs while Western medicine focuses more on the “branch cause" which is symptoms.
For simplicity, Raymond makes an analogy to demonstrate his point. For example, when a diabetes has 10g of glucose per 100ml of blood, his glucose index is 10g /100ml = 0.1 Suppose a healthy glucose index is 0.05. Western medicine will reduce glucose ( treating symptoms ) from 10g to 5g in order to reach that index. Chinese medicine, however, by rebalancing among the organs ( treating root cause ) will increase the blood volume from 100ml to 200ml. Although the result on the glucose index from Western and Chinese medicine is same, the mechanism and concept is totally different!
In relation to diabetes, TCM focuses on the long term by restoring balance, that is homeostasis, in the body. Each organ needs sugar to work properly, so limiting sugar intake by injecting insulin creates a vicious cycle of problems for diabetes patients. The body has its own balance system. If it is receiving insulin from an outside source, it will get used to this and adjust itself to reduce the level of natural insulin it produces. This, in turn, develops dependence on insulin intake and therefore is a “branch” treatment rather than “root.”
From Raymond’s point of view, the body must produce enough insulin itself to maintain sugar levels. It is not a matter of Chinese versus Western medicine, but a combination of both methods to best control diabetes symptoms and treat the root cause simultaneously.
Raymond has lived with diabetes himself for about six years. His A1C, or blood glucose level, increased to 7.5 at its highest level. He treated himself by taking herbal medicine and making a few lifestyle changes. He is now able to maintain is A1C at about 6.6. Diabetes is generally known to get worse with the aging process, but Raymond is able to manage his diabetes using TCM without dramatically decreasing his sugar intake or regularly injecting insulin.
Contact us at Washington State Acupuncture to book a diabetes consultation and try a holistic, natural alternative to traditional diabetes treatment!
