Diabetics can't drink porridge? The truth is...

Author: Gao Sihua, National Famous TCM Doctor, Capital Famous TCM Doctor, Chief Expert, Chief Physician, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine

Reviewer: Li Fangjie, Chief Physician, Wangjing Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

Traditional Chinese medicine is a treasure of Chinese culture and one of the greatest inventions in human history. For thousands of years, it has made great contributions to human health.

However, with the introduction of Western medicine, people know less and less about Chinese medicine. But in fact, Chinese medicine has its unique theoretical system and miraculous curative effect in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases.

Today we will talk about how traditional Chinese medicine understands and treats diabetes.

1. Is the “diabetes mellitus” mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine the same as diabetes?

The thirst disease mentioned in traditional Chinese medicine is a syndrome in which a person drinks more, eats more, urinates more, and gradually loses weight. We call this syndrome of "three mores and one less" "suffering from thirst disease."

The relationship between diabetes and diabetes is like two partially overlapping circles. Diabetes mellitus contains a part of diabetes mellitus, and diabetes mellitus also contains a part of diabetes mellitus. The two are related, but also different, and are not completely the same.

Figure 1 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

For example, in the past, people with diabetes usually ate more, drank more, and urinated more, and then went to the hospital for a check-up, where they found out that they had diabetes.

Now that people have better living conditions, they have physical examinations every year. It is very likely that diabetes will be discovered during a normal physical examination when there are no symptoms. At this time, there are no symptoms of "three mores and one less", so according to the view of traditional Chinese medicine, diabetes without symptoms of thirst, polydipsia and polyuria should not be classified as diabetes.

2. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, how is diabetes caused?

In the eyes of traditional Chinese medicine, the onset of diabetes is closely related to the liver, spleen, and kidney. The basic pathological changes of diabetes are the dysfunction of the liver, spleen, and kidney. Any factors that can cause dysfunction of the liver, spleen, and kidney can induce diabetes.

For example, overeating can damage the spleen and stomach, emotional stimulation can damage the liver, and excessive fatigue or congenital deficiency can lead to loss of kidney essence and qi. These reasons can cause diabetes. In simple terms:

First, diabetes is caused by diet.

With the improvement of living standards and the acceleration of the pace of life, many people's eating habits are to eat a little in the morning and at noon, and then treat themselves to a good meal at night, eating a lot of fatty and greasy food, and going to bed soon after eating, resulting in overnutrition. This overnutrition caused by not eating well when you should eat and eating too much when you shouldn't eat will cause diabetes.

Second, diabetes is caused by worry.

Emotional stimulation, mental pressure, frequent bad mood and sulking will cause the body's stress response. Excessive or long-term emergency state will cause endocrine and metabolic disorders and induce diabetes.

Third, diabetes is caused by fatigue.

Many people work more than ten hours a day, often working overtime, and working too hard. They are in a state of high mental and physical tension for a long time, which will also affect sugar metabolism and cause diabetes.

Fourth, diabetes is caused by idleness.

The "idle" mentioned here does not mean having nothing to do, but not exercising. If you do not exercise regularly, it will not only cause insufficient metabolic consumption, but also cause muscle loss. At the same time, the sensitivity of insulin receptors in muscles to insulin will also decrease, and the body's metabolism will also be affected, leading to the occurrence of diabetes.

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3. How does Traditional Chinese Medicine treat diabetes?

The correct way of TCM to treat diabetes is to regulate the liver, spleen and kidney at the same time. However, it is necessary to distinguish the primary and secondary and the severity of liver, spleen and kidney lesions according to the causes of the disease and the different manifestations of the disease, and then regulate them. Therefore, the treatment plan for each patient is different.

For example, some diabetic patients are often angry or stressed. In addition to increased blood sugar, another very important symptom is irritability or depression. Obviously, it is mainly caused by liver dysfunction. For this type of patients, the liver should be regulated as the main focus, and the spleen and kidneys should be regulated as a supplement.

For example, some diabetic patients are caused by long-term overeating and irregular diet. These patients are often overweight, have high blood sugar after meals, or often have symptoms of indigestion such as abdominal distension, fatigue, and loose stools. It is obvious that the main problem is spleen dysfunction. For this type of patients, the spleen should be regulated as the main focus, and the liver and kidneys should be regulated as a supplement.

Therefore, different diabetic patients have different inducing factors, different stages of the disease, and different manifestations of the disease. Chinese medicine will consider the treatment plan based on these comprehensive factors, whether it is mainly liver-oriented, spleen-oriented, or kidney-oriented. Grasping the main contradiction and taking the secondary contradiction, in this way, the liver, spleen, and kidney can be harmonized.

4. Can diabetics drink porridge?

Many people believe that diabetics cannot drink porridge because porridge has a high glycemic index. If the same weight of rice is made into rice and porridge, drinking porridge will cause blood sugar to rise faster.

In fact, the overall energy content of porridge is not very high. What diabetic patients need to limit most is the total calorie intake per day. For example, if there is porridge in this meal, it is okay to eat less of other foods.

Moreover, in clinical practice, some medicated porridge is often used to help patients regulate their blood sugar.

For example, Huangqi Dihuang Congee. 30 grams of Huangqi, 30 grams of dried Dihuang, 50 grams of polished rice, boil Huangqi and dried Dihuang for 40 minutes like decocting medicine, then remove the residue and use the boiled water to cook rice porridge.

This porridge is suitable for diabetic patients with fatigue, dry mouth, thirst, and deficiency of both qi and yin. Astragalus nourishes qi and spleen, and dried rehmannia nourishes kidney and liver. Astragalus and rehmannia porridge not only coordinates the liver, spleen, and kidney, but also plays the role of nourishing both qi and yin.

Another example is barley and yam porridge. Just cut the fresh peeled iron stick yam into sections, add barley kernels and cook them together. The amount of consumption can be controlled according to your appetite.

Figure 3 Original copyright image, no permission to reprint

This porridge is suitable for diabetic patients who feel heavy and have loose stools. Job's tears can remove dampness and strengthen the spleen, while yam can nourish the lungs, spleen and kidneys. In addition, both Job's tears and yam have the function of regulating blood sugar metabolism. Cooking porridge with the two together is also a good choice.