🌿 Folk Prescriptions

Diabetes is a lifelong condition requiring long-term management. Treatment primarily involves dietary therapy, physical activity, and medication, among which dietary therapy is fundamental. Below are some suitable dietary therapies for diabetic patients:
Onion Stir-Fried Eel
Ingredients: 2 eels, 2 onions.
Preparation: Remove intestines from eels, cut into pieces; slice onions. Heat oil in a pan, first fry eel pieces until heated, then add onions, stir-fry briefly, add salt, soy sauce, and a small amount of water, simmer until eels are fully cooked.
Benefits: Regulates qi, strengthens spleen, lowers blood sugar and lipids. Suitable for diabetes complicated by hyperlipidemia. Onions have hypoglycemic effects. Eels contain "eel insulin-like substance," which lowers blood glucose in hyperglycemic individuals and raises it to normal levels in hypoglycemic ones. Combined, these two ingredients strengthen the spleen and lower blood sugar while offering a delicious flavor.
Note: Not suitable for those with damp-heat in liver and gallbladder, characterized by right-sided rib pain, fever, thirst, jaundice, mild epigastric distension, poor appetite, and short, yellow urine.
Chinese Yam Wheat Porridge
Ingredients: 60 grams of Chinese yam, 60 grams of wheat, 30 grams of glutinous rice, add appropriate water. Boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until wheat is soft.
Benefits: Nourishes heart yin, relieves irritability and thirst. Used for diabetes due to heart yin deficiency, presenting symptoms such as restlessness, excessive thirst, increased appetite, frequent urination, and large volume of urine. Wheat is a high-fiber food that significantly reduces blood glucose.
Chinese Yam Astragalus Tea
Ingredients: 30 grams of Chinese yam, 30 grams of Astragalus, decocted and used as tea.
Benefits: Astragalus is sweet and slightly warm. It enhances phagocytic ability of white blood cells, thus boosting body resistance. It has tonic effects, stops sweating, promotes diuresis, reduces edema, and inhibits glycogen production. When combined with Chinese yam, it strengthens qi, generates body fluids, strengthens spleen and kidneys, consolidates essence, prevents leakage, and lowers blood sugar—ideal for diabetics with spleen and stomach weakness.
Chinese Yam Rehmannia Lean Meat Soup
Ingredients: 30 grams of Chinese yam, 24 grams of prepared Rehmannia, 9 grams of Alisma, 3 grams of fennel, 60 grams of lean pork. Add appropriate water, boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
Benefits: Nourishes yin, consolidates kidney, strengthens spleen, and retains essence. Suitable for diabetes with both spleen and kidney deficiency, presenting symptoms such as frequent urination, large volume of urine, cloudy urine resembling rice wash water, fatigue, and loose stools. Prepared Rehmannia is sweet and slightly warm, functioning to generate essence and marrow, nourish yin, consolidate the kidney. Used for kidney deficiency in diabetes. Pharmacological studies confirm its hypoglycemic effect. Alisma promotes diuresis without harming the kidneys; pharmacological evidence confirms its hypoglycemic action. Fennel is aromatic and helps stimulate appetite; when paired with Rehmannia, it counteracts Rehmannia’s greasy and stagnant nature.
Goji Leaf Clam Meat Soup
Ingredients: 60 grams of carrot, 100 grams of clam meat, add appropriate water, simmer over low heat for 1 hour. Add 60 grams of fresh goji leaves, boil briefly, then serve.
Function: Nourishes liver, improves eyesight, clears heat, and relieves thirst. For diabetes with declining vision due to liver yin deficiency, presenting symptoms such as blurred vision, decreased eyesight, irritability, insomnia, frequent thirst, and weight loss. Goji leaves clear heat, improve eyesight, treat liver deficiency and dim vision, and relieve irritability and thirst. Carrots are sweet and cool, nourishing the liver and improving eyesight, clearing heat, and relieving thirst. Due to high fiber content, they help lower blood glucose and lipids. Clam meat is sweet and salty, slightly cold, nourishing the liver and improving eyesight, clearing heat, and relieving thirst. This soup is most suitable for diabetics with dim vision due to liver deficiency with heat.
Note: Not recommended for diabetics with spleen yang deficiency, obesity, swollen tongue with pale color, greasy white coating, and deep slow pulse.