Type 2 diabetes is a condition characterized by chronically high blood sugar due to the pancreas not producing enough insulin and/or insulin resistance. This condition is on the rise due to poor diet, lifestyle choices, and environmental or genetic factors. It can result in a host of complications such as neuropathy and respiratory disorders.
Currently, the mainstream treatments for type 2 diabetes are injectable insulin and antidiabetic medication. However, these treatments can’t prevent or always treat every complication. This has led scientists to investigate alternatives to current treatments.
One alternative is Traditional Chinese Medicine. Using herbal mixtures to treat the underlying causes of ailments, scientists have been studying their effects to determine their potential benefits.
Let’s review together five recent studies that explore how Traditional Chinese Medicine is being studied in terms of type 2 diabetes treatments:
The first study is a review article that analyzes the potential of Traditional Chinese Medicine to help people with type 2 diabetes regulate glucose, glp-1, and gut flora levels, to name a few. One study cited in the review demonstrated TCM’s effectiveness when combined with on-the-market drugs after 12 weeks of treatment. Another study showed evidence of a possible link between diabetes and maintaining healthy gut flora. However, it was emphasized that these are only initial results and that more studies are needed to make progress.
The second article discusses a possible link between type 2 diabetes and gut flora and how a Chinese medicine prescription, Jiang-Tang-San-Huang, could rebalance the gut flora. Researchers tested this concept in rats by feeding a control group standard rat food and an experimental group a high-fat diet plus an STZ injection to model type 2 diabetes. Then, the experimental group received a diluted form of the prescription for four weeks. The treatment resulted in improved gut flora, reduced insulin resistance, and reduced hyperglycemia, among other outcomes. However, the article emphasized that because the experiment was conducted on animals, additional research is needed before this treatment becomes mainstream in medical practice.
The third article describes how neuropathy, a nervous system disorder and complication of type 2 diabetes, is often only diagnosed at an irreversible stage. However, before diabetes had a name, TCM, identified one form of it, xiaoke disease, by studying a person’s tongue. This method was combined with an algorithm to identify the risk of diabetic neuropathy early. Researchers took multiple pictures of people’s tongues and fed them to the algorithm to find patterns. The study identified twelve associated characteristics, such as a dark red tongue, a yellow coating, and dryness. However, the study emphasized its limitations because it was conducted at a single medical center in Tianjin. More data are needed before this becomes a standardized method.
The fourth article is a systematic review that discusses the prospect of using Jinlida as an add-on treatment based on 22 randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Previous studies have suggested that Jinlida is associated with reductions in HbA1c, FPG, and 2h-PG. However, the trials presented different outcomes. Jinlida was associated with reduced HbA1c levels during the trials, but FPG and 2h-PG levels did not change significantly. Since the results did not match previous studies, the article emphasized the need for higher-quality RCTs.
The fifth study analyzed a potential link between type 2 diabetes and respiratory disorders and how Traditional Chinese Medicine can help reduce them. The study showed that TCM is associated with reduced inflammation, which could reduce hospitalizations due to respiratory complications. TCM was associated with a 26 percent decrease in COPD hospitalizations and a 41 percent decrease in asthma hospitalizations. However, the study acknowledged drawbacks such as comorbid conditions and unmeasured lifestyle factors and emphasized the need for more research.
