Late onset diabetes usually appears around the age of 50 or later, therefore, the incidence rate is quite high among Americans of that age group. Furthermore, the rate at which Americans are affected by diabetes is growing. The blood sugar regulation that can be attained by standard methods is usually not adequate in avoiding common secondary effects of diabetes, including cardiovascular diseases, degenerative eye conditions, limb pain, ulceration, gangrene, and kidney failure. Thus, it is reasonable to examine other avenues for treating diabetes that may, together with the standard dietary and drug approaches, yield better results.
Chinese medicine is one such avenue.
Although the incidence of diabetes is lower in China than in the U.S., the disease has been known since ancient times and it has been a subject of clinical research for the past forty years. Chinese medical treatment of diabetes includes acupuncture, herbal prescriptions, and dietary recommendations. The long history of dealing with this disease in China without modern drug therapy indicates that great effort has gone into alleviating the various symptoms of diabetes by natural methods. According to this ancient text, the syndrome arises from consuming too much fatty, sweet, or rich foods. In 752 A.D., the distinguished physician Wang Tao published the famous book Wai Tai Mi Yao , which was a comprehensive guide to medicine.