Combining Western Medicine and TCM is the Best Way of Treating Diabetes

TCM or Traditional Chinese Medicine has been touted as one of the newest natural remedies for diabetes. The truth is however, TCM does not really “treat” diabetes. What it does is assist the body attain the best result in order for it to function the best way possible. I recommend more studies to validate and/or discover the benefits TCM can give to the body.

The foundation of TCM is based on the interdependence of two major concepts, the yin and the yang. TCM believes that diabetes mellitus is due to an imbalance or an inadequacy of yin for certain reasons including physical and mental exhaustion, imbalanced diet, emotional stress, and other diseases that have made yin deficient. This has led to a wider search for natural treatments for diabetes.

TCM practitioners are one in saying that nurturing the yin is vital for treatment of diabetes. The question is how, can this be accomplished. Those practitioners only prescribe natural cures such as Solomon’s Seal, raw Rehmannia root, raw gypsum, Glehnia root,Scrophularia root, and Trichosanthes root.

Although Western Medicine practitioners believe that the anatomy and physiology of Western Medicine is more accurate, TCM adherents argue that traditional Chinese medicine has also its own unique advantages. For one, TCM has a variety of treatments available. Also, the medicines these practitioners prescribe have no known lethal effects simply because TCM only uses natural cures for diabetes.

TCM practitioners always regard a person as a whole being with one system comprising of the spirit, body, and mind. This is the reason why they stress the importance of treating the whole person and not just target the problematic part of the body. Their aim is to identify and treat the symptoms as well as the source of the disease. They have been trained to do this that their healing methodology may be what some diabetics, who do not positively respond to Western modalities, need.

For example, a diabetic who goes on a hyperglycemic state will be prescribed an injection of insulin and hypoglycemic pills by his/her physician in order to lower the patient’s blood glucose levels. TCM doctors, on the other hand, believe that the problem lies on the islets of Langerhans, the part of the body that’s responsible for insulin secretion. Blood sugar levels will rise again when the medications are stopped because the problem in the islets of Langerhans is still there and has not been addressed.

What does a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner do? This Eastern medicine trained healer use Chinese medicinal herbs to ascertain why the condition is so and attempt to resolve the root of the problem. They strive to make the insulin factor do its work. A TCM practitioner also can help diabetics manage their lipids. Bile plays a key role in the mixture of insulin and when it’s not functioning normally, the production of insulin is also disrupted.

Both TCM and Western medicine has its own advantages when it comes to treating diabetes. Therefore, the best way a diabetes patient can benefit from a treatment is when Western and Traditional Chinese treatments are combined. Both a TCM practitioner and a Western-trained physician who decide to combine the two types of treatment know that closely monitoring the blood sugar level of the patient is important as well as knowing the potential side effects of the treatment.

All in all, one should not lose sight of the fact that the objective is to ascertain what type of care can provide the best benefit for the diabetes patient. Being open-minded and considering all avenues of treatment will certainly be advantageous in the long term. We long for the best help for our patients after all and give the best of ourselves in the process, no matter what type of treatment is utilized.