Hi everyone,

Last week I wrote about Diabetes from a Western medicine understanding, so this week the focus is on how Chinese medicine views the pattern of disharmony that is common with people who have Diabetes.

The condition has an effect on the triple burner.

These are known as the upper, middle and lower burners.

The triple burner can be defined as "from the diaphragm upwards is the upper burner, between the diaphragm and the umbilicus is the middle burner, below the umbilicus is the lower burner ... the upper burner includes heart, lungs pericardium, throat and head; the middle burner includes stomach, spleen and gall bladder; the lower burner includes liver, kidneys, intestines and bladder." (Maciocia, 1989, pg.119)

The upper burner type is known as heat in the lungs which is characterised by a strong thirst.

The middle burner is considered as heat in the spleen and stomach, which results in symptoms of intense hunger, and the lower burner is related to the kidney's inability to control the orifices, hence the increase volume and frequency of urination.

Chinese medicine views type 1 diabetes as "failure of spleen transformation is due to the spleen not being supported by the kidneys; in type 2 Diabetes it is due to direct damage to the spleen by diet or emotional factors"(Mclean & Lyttleton, 2010, pg. 159)

What does this all mean?

The spleen is an organ that not often talked about in western medicine; however it plays a very important role in understanding how Qi (energy) is produced in Chinese medicine.

Here is the original post:

HEALTH: Chinese medicine's view on Diabetes