Dietary therapy for diabetes

Medical practitioners of all dynasties have attached great importance to the dietary treatment of diabetes and have created a large number of effective medicinal diet prescriptions. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the pathogenesis of diabetes is deficiency of the root and excess of the symptoms. From the perspective of deficiency of the root, it can be manifested as four groups of symptoms: yin deficiency, qi deficiency, deficiency of both qi and yin, and deficiency of both yin and yang. Severe cases are often accompanied by complications.

1. Diabetes deficiency syndrome and its dietary treatment

1. Medicinal diet therapy for those with yin deficiency.

Diabetes patients with Yin deficiency will experience symptoms such as thirst, dry mouth, irritability, dry stool and yellow urine, red tongue with less coating, and thin and rapid pulse. The treatment is mainly to nourish Yin. Commonly used medicinal foods include raw rehmannia, cornus officinalis, wolfberry, anemarrhena, Scrophularia, Pueraria root, raw yam, bitter melon, etc. Medicinal food prescriptions include wolfberry and kudzu powder porridge (wolfberry, kudzu root, etc.) and stir-fried bitter melon with meat (bitter melon, lean pork, etc.).

2. Medicinal diet therapy for those with qi deficiency.

Diabetes patients with qi deficiency will experience fatigue, lethargy in the limbs, abdominal distension, loose stools, pale tongue with white coating, and weak pulse. The treatment is mainly to tonify qi. Commonly used medicinal foods include ginseng, astragalus, white atractylodes, yam, pumpkin, kudzu root, lotus seeds, etc. Medicinal diet prescriptions include yam and lotus seed porridge, and hen stewed with astragalus (astragalus, hen meat, etc.).

3. Medicinal diet therapy for those with both Qi and Yin deficiency.

Diabetes patients with Qi and Yin deficiency present with symptoms of both Yin deficiency and Qi deficiency. The treatment method should be to invigorate Qi and nourish Yin. Commonly used medicinal foods include ginseng, astragalus, raw rehmannia, yam, wolfberry, Poria, Pueraria, Atractylodes, Polygonatum, etc. Medicinal food prescriptions include Shenqizhen (ginseng, pig pancreas, etc.).

4. Medicinal diet therapy for those with both yin and yang deficiency.

Diabetes patients with deficiency of both yin and yang will have symptoms such as fatigue, weakness, soreness of waist and knees, hot palms and soles, cold backs of hands and feet, pale tongue and deep pulse. The treatment should be to nourish yin and assist yang. Commonly used medicines include cinnamon, deer antler slices, wolfberry, cornus officinalis, epimedium, ginseng, astragalus, etc. Medicinal food prescriptions such as Deer Head Soup (deer head, Schisandra chinensis, etc.), Shenqi Lingpi Drink (ginseng, wolfberry, Xianlingpi, etc.)

The above is for dietary therapy based on syndrome differentiation. The specific syndromes are different, and the dietary therapy prescriptions are also different.

2. Medicine, food and prescriptions for diabetes complications

Clinically, diabetes is often accompanied by a variety of complications, and sufficient attention should be paid to the selection of medicated diet prescriptions.

1. Combine the medicine, food and prescriptions for patients with pterygium.

Diabetes combined with pterygium is due to liver and kidney yin deficiency and malnutrition of the eyes. Treatment should focus on nourishing the liver and kidney. Commonly used medicinal and food such as wolfberry, chrysanthemum, lamb liver, pork liver, etc. Medicinal food prescriptions such as lamb liver soup (lamb liver, etc.) and fried liver tips with onions (onions, pork liver, etc.).

2. Medicines, food and prescriptions for patients with concomitant retinopathy.

Patients with diabetes and retinopathy suffer from dizziness and decreased vision, which are caused by yin deficiency, liver hyperactivity, and restless blood vessels. They should be treated by nourishing yin and cooling the liver, cooling blood and harmonizing blood. Commonly used medicinal and food ingredients include Panax notoginseng powder, mulberry leaves, chrysanthemum, wolfberry, and agrimony. Medicinal food prescriptions such as mulberry and chrysanthemum tea (mulberry leaves, chrysanthemum, etc.) and wolfberry and chrysanthemum drink (wolfberry, chrysanthemum, etc.).

3. Medicines, food and prescriptions for patients with hypertension.

People with diabetes and hypertension often experience symptoms such as dizziness, headache and irritability, which are caused by yin deficiency and yang hyperactivity, and liver fire rushing up. They should be treated by nourishing yin and suppressing yang, cooling the liver and balancing the fire. Commonly used medicinal and food ingredients include magnet, jellyfish skin, oyster, gastrodia elata, cassia seed, wolfberry, mulberry leaf, chrysanthemum, sophora japonica, star anise and sesame. Medicinal food prescriptions such as Kuding tea and Gastrodia elata stewed with pig pancreas (Gastrodia elata, pig pancreas, etc.).

4. Medicine, food and prescriptions for patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

Patients with diabetes complicated by cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, dizziness, headache, chest tightness and pain, stroke and hemiplegia have disorder of Qi and blood, and internal blood stasis. They should be treated by regulating Qi, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Commonly used medicinal foods include hawthorn, kudzu root, peach kernel, seaweed, sophora japonica stem, chrysanthemum, wolfberry, magnet, etc. Medicinal food prescriptions such as hawthorn paste (hawthorn, peach kernel, etc.) and wolfberry and chrysanthemum drink (wolfberry, kudzu root, chrysanthemum, hawthorn, etc.).

5. Medicine, food and prescriptions for patients with concurrent kidney disease.

Patients with diabetes and kidney disease suffer from low back pain, fatigue, proteinuria, edema, kidney deficiency, and water stagnation. The treatment should be to tonify the kidney and nourish the essence, remove blood stasis and promote diuresis. Commonly used medicinal and food ingredients include ginseng, astragalus, wolfberry, rehmannia root, mulberry bark, carp, milk, leech, corn silk, wax gourd peel, gourd peel, etc. Medicinal food prescriptions such as black carp soup (carp, mulberry bark, tangerine peel, etc.), corn silk, winter melon and red bean drink (corn silk, winter melon peel, red beans, etc.).

6. Medicines, foods and prescriptions for patients with combined carbuncles, ulcers and boils caused by infection.

Patients with diabetes complicated with infection and carbuncle, ulcer and furuncle have stagnation of heat and toxins, and should be treated by clearing away heat and detoxifying. Commonly used medicinal and food ingredients include Taraxacum mongolicum, honeysuckle, plantain, wild chrysanthemum, etc. Medicinal food prescriptions such as dandelion cold tea (dandelion, salt, etc.) and two-flower tea (silver flower, chrysanthemum, etc.).

The above is for dietary diagnosis and treatment. The specific complications of diabetes are different, and the dietary therapy prescriptions are different. The content of Chinese medicine diet therapy for diabetes is very rich. However, in view of the basic pathogenesis of diabetes, we have proposed the use of dietary therapy such as Ganluyin (wolfberry, hawthorn, etc.), Shenxian porridge (wolfberry, yam, etc.), and Yannian porridge (wolfberry, lotus seeds, etc.) to treat diabetes and its complications, and have achieved good clinical results.