Diabetes is a disease that severely harms human health. According to statistics, the diabetes incidence rate in the world is 3%~5%, and the average incidence rate for people over 50 years old is 10%. In our country, with the development of economy and changes in dietary structure as well as population aging, the number of diabetic patients has rapidly increased. Currently, the diabetes prevalence rate for adults over 25 years old is approximately 2.5%, reaching more than 20 million people. It is estimated that by 2010, the number of diabetic patients will reach 63 million, which will be the highest in the world. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the knowledge of diabetes prevention to achieve healthy longevity.
Diabetes is a common chronic disease that seriously affects people's health. It is a disease mainly characterized by metabolic disorders, and the hormone involved in metabolism is "insulin." If insulin secretion becomes relatively or absolutely insufficient due to various reasons, it will cause elevated blood glucose levels and the appearance of sugar in urine, hence the name diabetes. The body's sugar metabolism is closely related to fat and protein metabolism. Problems in one aspect can also lead to metabolic disorders in other areas. Therefore, diabetes is a comprehensive condition that can result in complications involving protein, fat, water, electrolyte, and acid-base metabolic disorders.
Diabetes, due to internal metabolic chaos, cannot absorb and utilize sugar properly, causing the body to lack an energy source, leading to unbearable hunger. Thus, there is an increase in appetite, known as "polyphagia." Since urination requires the removal of large amounts of water, there is the symptom of "polyuria." Polyuria causes excessive dehydration, leading to thirst and thus "polydipsia." Insufficient heat supply to the body can cause tissue protein breakdown, making the patient gradually lose weight, resulting in "weight loss." These are the typical symptoms of diabetes known as "three excesses and one deficiency." However, not all diabetic patients exhibit these typical symptoms; and those with such typical symptoms are not necessarily diabetic, as patients with hyperparathyroidism and diabetes insipidus may also have varying degrees of "three excesses and one deficiency" symptoms. The key to diagnosing diabetes lies in checking the blood glucose level when "three excesses and one deficiency" symptoms occur. If the fasting blood glucose is ≥7 mmol/L or the postprandial 2-hour blood glucose is ≥11.1 mmol/L, it can be diagnosed as diabetes. Even without "three excesses and one deficiency" symptoms, if the blood glucose level remains high, it can still be diagnosed as diabetes.
Diabetes can lead to various complications. Statistics show that among patients who have had diabetes for over 20 years, 95% develop retinopathy and cataracts, which are also major causes of blindness. Diabetics are 2~4 times more likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases compared to normal individuals, and their risk of stroke is five times higher. Therefore, more than half of elderly diabetic patients die from cardiovascular diseases. Besides this, diabetes can also lead to kidney diseases, neuropathy, gastrointestinal diseases, various infections, lower limb artery hardening blockage, etc.
Clinically, diabetes can be divided into two types: Type I diabetes, also known as insulin-dependent diabetes; Type II diabetes, also known as non-insulin-dependent diabetes. The causes and pathogenesis have not been fully explained, but both Type I and Type II diabetes involve genetic factors. However, genetic factors only relate to the susceptibility to diabetes rather than the disease itself, and environmental factors must be present for the disease to occur. For instance, viral infection is the main factor that triggers Type I diabetes, which mostly occurs in children and adolescents but can happen at any age. Obesity is a significant inducer of Type II diabetes. Studies show that moderately obese individuals are four times more likely to develop diabetes compared to normal-weight individuals, while extremely obese individuals are about twenty times more likely. Therefore, obesity itself can cause "insulin resistance" or "insulin insensitivity." Other factors such as infection, lack of physical exercise, smoking, and multiple pregnancies are also inducers.
The main reason for the sharp increase in diabetic patients is the 60% increase in obesity over the past ten years, caused by excessive consumption of greasy foods and lack of exercise. Therefore, a combination of exercise, diet control, and health care (treatment) is the best way to prevent diabetes. Exercise is placed first because it is active. Weight loss through exercise alone is difficult to achieve results. Exercise can eliminate glucose from the blood, allowing it to enter muscle cells. However, exercising without diet control is not enough. It is also important to pay attention to fat intake to prevent hyperlipidemia. The general nutritional requirement for diabetics is "three low and two high," meaning low calories, low sugar, low fat, and high vitamins, high fiber, with moderate protein. This requirement helps control the blood glucose levels of diabetic patients and reduces the occurrence of cardiovascular complications. Quitting smoking should not be overlooked. For patients already diagnosed with diabetes, besides exercise, diet control, and necessary drug treatment, using appropriate health supplements under a doctor's guidance is also very necessary.
One resolution: Break away from obesity;
Two essentials: Do not overeat even by a little, do not walk less by a step;
Three no-nos: No smoking, no binge drinking, no staying up late;
Four checks: Regularly check blood pressure, blood glucose, blood lipids, and blood viscosity;
Five to six months: Weight loss should not seek quick results, especially for middle-aged and elderly people;
Seven to eight-tenths full: Diet should follow "total control, structural adjustment, reverse eating order."
(That is, focus on vegetarian food, maintain nutritional balance, eat vegetables first, and consume staple food and meat when almost full.)
The method for treating diabetes: Jin Zao Fu Kang + Gan Bao + Nv Bao;
In traditional Chinese medicine, yin deficiency and dry heat are the keys to the onset of diabetes. Based on nourishing yin and replenishing the kidneys, targeted symptoms of early, middle, and late stages of the disease are addressed using the TCM dialectical system.
Pay attention to combining heat-clearing, qi-supplementing, yin-tonifying, blood-activating stasis-resolving, and liver-soothing qi-regulating clinical practices. Comprehensive regulation is performed to tonify the five organs, benefit essence and qi, remove stasis, and regulate the nervous-endocrine-immune system, treating both symptoms and root causes.
Jin Zao + Gan Bao + Nv Bao also has unique supportive treatment functions for metabolic syndrome, hyperuricemia, gout, hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and other endocrine metabolic diseases in terms of nourishing yin, replenishing the kidneys, soothing the liver, and regulating qi.
Additionally, eating more pumpkin seeds can help. In traditional Chinese medicine, diabetes is called xiaoke disease, divided into upper, middle, and lower xiaoke. Upper xiaoke belongs to the lungs, lower xiaoke belongs to the kidneys. Upper xiaoke involves excessive water intake with normal urination; middle xiaoke involves excessive water intake with short and red urination; lower xiaoke involves excessive water intake with turbid urination. Jin Zao + Gan Bao + Nv Bao can effectively regulate these conditions.
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