Diabetes

Last night a friend asked me if I treat diabetes. It's not the first time I've gotten the question, and I've always answered cautiously. Chinese medicine is about setting the body back to where it wants to be - it isn't about manipulating switches to make it where we think it ought to be. I don't treat insulin dependency, I treat the digestive system for the imbalanced way it handles sugar.

Sounds simplistic when people are so educated about the chemistry of diabetes. But this morning, a patient says to me, "Have you been treating my diabetes?" I say I was addressing it through the digestive system. She says, "Well, I think I feel better!" I have been treating her for sciatic pain down her hip and leg, and while she was here I was also addressing Spleen deficiency and dampness: in other words, rebalancing her digestive system... and she can tell the difference!

If you have diabetes, give acupuncture a try. It won't be instant results, but it is worth seeing what can be done without drugs and with a good diet.