[Case Study] Diabetes

Steven Liang has had diabetes for 20 years. He used to work as a computer programmer  and loved to drink two cans of soda in front of the computer every day. By the age of forty, he was diagnosed with Type I diabetes. He followed doctor’s instructions and started insulin. He was never overweight, but the high sugar drink created inflammation in his pancreas, and eventually his pancreas could not produce sufficient insulin. He has been using insulin to regulate his blood sugar for 20 years.

Steven was told that he can eat whatever he wants.  All he needed to do was just add more insulin. His blood sugar would go up to 170-200 if he ate processed foods or dinner too late before he came to see me. A few years ago, he came to Boston Chinese Acupuncture in Needham, trying to control his blood sugar and neck and lower back pain. I told him high blood sugar and high insulin can cause inflammation in his blood vessels, muscles and nerves, destroying his network.  He could develop cataracts, impotence, kidney failure, heart problems and neuropathy. He started drinking tea and cutting down the processed food. Now, his blood sugar has been lowered to 100-120 most of the time in the morning. His A1c is also lower. He can now cut down his dosage of his insulin. At the age of 70, he has more energy and his neck and lower back pain are gone.