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How Can I Manage Type 2 Diabetes?

What is Type 2 Diabetes?

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the cells in your body become resistant to insulin.  This means that the insulin isn’t able to deliver glucose from your blood to your cells.  Since your cells are left with no glucose to use as energy, they are forced to draw energy from other sources.  This causes problems in the body.  Glucose also builds up in your bloodstream causing further problems.  If you have type 2 diabetes, you may experience symptoms including extreme hunger and thirst, fatigue, and blurry vision.  This article will discuss the possible complications of type 2 diabetes, how it can be managed, and the ideal diet for treating the condition.  Chinese Medicine will also be discussed as a treatment option.  

Type 2 Diabetes Complications:

Complications can arise when type 2 diabetes isn’t managed properly.  These complications can be mild to severe and can end up affecting all the organs in the body.  These complications can include skin problems like infections, as well as eye damage and hearing impairment.  Type 2 diabetes can also lead to digestive problems like constipation, diarrhoea, and vomiting, and nerve problems like neuropathy.  More serious type 2 diabetes complications can include cardiovascular problems like high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack and stroke.  The risk of heart attacks and strokes in adults is tripled for people who have diabetes.  Men with diabetes are also more likely to experience erectile dysfunction.  

Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) and hypoglycaemia (high blood sugar) can also arise as complications of type 2 diabetes.  Hypoglycaemia usually causes symptoms like dizziness or shakiness, while hyperglycaemia symptoms usually include increased thirst and frequent urination.  Having a sugary snack with you for emergency hypoglycaemia situations can help to remedy the situation quickly, while exercising can help to manage hyperglycaemia.  Diabetes may also lead to death, either as a direct cause or as a contributing factor.  Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States of America.

Manage Type 2 Diabetes

How to Manage Type 2 Diabetes:

A key aspect of managing type 2 diabetes is measuring your blood sugar levels.  You can get this tested at the doctor, or you may be recommended to monitor your own blood sugar levels at home.  Another aspect of type 2 diabetes management is letting the people around you know what the symptoms of high or low blood sugar are, and how they can help.  Maintaining a regulated exercise program is also a crucial aspect of type 2 diabetes management, as it helps your cells become more responsive to insulin.

Diet for Type 2 Diabetes:

Diet is an important part of managing type 2 diabetes.  The human body can heal, but to do this it needs the right inputs in the form of food.  Eating a wide variety of nutrient rich foods and having meals at regular times throughout the day are vital to help you manage type 2 diabetes.

Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Processed foods like white bread, cakes, biscuits, soft drinks and processed meats can cause type 2 diabetes to get worse, so they should be avoided.  Foods containing large amounts of saturated and trans fats (like red meat and full fat dairy) are also detrimental.  You can substitute these with healthy fats like avocado, nuts, seeds and olive oil.  Vegetables, legumes like beans, kumara, whole grains like quinoa, and fruits are all very healthy diet choices for managing type 2 diabetes.

How Can Chinese Medicine Help?

Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes can also be treated by Chinese Medicine.  Techniques like acupuncture can be very effective for managing type 2 diabetes, especially when combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise.  The benefit of using acupuncture to help treat conditions like diabetes is that the condition is addressed by treating the underlying cause, which encourages your body to heal itself.

Acupressure is another Chinese Medicine treatment method which you can do yourself, which may be able to help lower your blood sugar and manage your diabetes. In the video below Szenan explains how to do three acupressure points for lowing blood sugar.

Conclusion:

Overall, type 2 diabetes occurs when the body can’t use insulin to deliver glucose to cells.  This results in high blood sugar and other symptoms and may lead to potentially serious side effects if it isn’t managed properly.  Monitoring your blood sugar levels and maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine are important aspects of managing type 2 diabetes.  Chinese Medicine is also an effective way to help treat type 2 diabetes.

If you’d like to know more about how Chinese Medicine can help, please see our website at https://balancetcm.co.nz/traditional-chinese-medicine-hamilton/.

For information about diabetes and Chinese Medicine, see our webpage at https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/diabetes/.  

Manage Type 2 Diabetes

Our Offer to You:

Fill in our online questionnaire for free – and save the $135 it would cost you to do this detailed medical history in person with a practitioner.  You can request a phone call from a practitioner after they have read your online form, or just book your initial exam for $40.  Call us on 07 846 7956 to book, or fill in the questionnaire now. 

References:

Centre of Balance Hamilton: Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine (n.d.). Archive for category: Diabetes. https://balancetcm.co.nz/category/diabetes/

Pietrangelo, A. (2021, October 19). Understanding Type 2 Diabetes. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes#symptoms

Phua, S. (n.d.). What Is Traditional Chinese Medicine? Centre of Balance Hamilton: Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine. https://balancetcm.co.nz/traditional-chinese-medicine-hamilton/

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Monica

I am originally from Hebei province in China. I hold a NZ bachelor’s degree of health and science with a major in acupuncture. I am honoured to be an acupuncturist at Centre of Balance. Helping patients to alleviate their pain brings me the greatest joy. Chinese medicine emphasises the unity of human beings and nature. During the treatment, I hope to not only relieve your pain but also help you to understand the principles behind acupuncture’s effectiveness, as well as the significant impact of diet, emotions, lifestyle habits, and living environments on disease recovery. Self-healing is an ability that our bodies are naturally endowed with.

I studied acupuncture in New Zealand and completed one and a half years of supervised clinical internship before graduating. In the early stage of my training, I mainly worked with patients experiencing neck, shoulder, and lower back pain. Under the guidance of senior clinical tutors, I gradually developed hands-on experience and confidence in treating musculoskeletal pain conditions.
As my clinical exposure expanded, I began treating a wider range of internal conditions. Alongside traditional acupuncture, I was introduced to Umbilical Acupuncture and Tungs-acupuncture Points. What interested me most about these approaches is that they often do not require needling directly at the painful area, yet can still achieve very effective results.
I was especially inspired by observing my supervisor use Umbilical Acupuncture to treat common conditions such as insomnia, menstrual irregularities, and even rheumatoid arthritis, with very positive outcomes. Another supervisor was highly skilled in Tungs-acupuncture Points and achieved excellent results in treating pain, infertility, menstrual disorders, and a variety of women’s health conditions. After completing my studies and entering clinical practice, once I observed Dr. Szenan Phua using Tungs-acupuncture points to help cancer patients relieve pain, which further strengthened my trust in this treatment method.
I later completed training in Dr. Tan Balance Acupuncture, which had a strong influence on the way I approach treatment. One of the most noticeable features of this method is how quickly patients often feel improvement, especially with pain conditions. Dr. Szenan Phua’s New Balance Acupuncture combines meridian regulation with structural adjustment and internal organ balancing, including techniques such as pulse balancing and spinal adjustment.
From my clinical experience, pain is rarely just a local issue. It often involves underlying organ weakness or structural imbalance. When these aspects are addressed together, treatment can be more thorough and longer-lasting. I also apply this approach to internal conditions, particularly in fertility and women’s health. This includes supporting natural conception, IVF preparation and embryo transfer, pregnancy support, early-pregnancy nausea, and late-pregnancy labour induction. I combine these treatments with concepts learned from a few additional fertility training, which has given me a broader and more flexible clinical perspective. This has reinforced my belief that acupuncture should be adapted to each individual rather than applied through fixed formulas.
Two other areas of study that have been very helpful in my clinical work are Tongue Diagnosis and Dr. Zhu’s Scalp Acupuncture. Although tongue diagnosis is taught in my standard Chinese medicine training, further study allowed me to deepen and refine my diagnostic skills.
My first formal training was in Li’s Tongue Diagnosis, which looks not only at organ patterns, but also at how different areas of the tongue reflect the body’s structure. This system also explores personality traits and changes during pregnancy, making it both clinically useful and engaging. I later attended online lectures on Yin’s Tongue Diagnosis and studied the related materials independently. this learning has helped me make clearer and more accurate pattern differentiation, allowing my acupuncture treatments to be more targeted. It covers a wide range of conditions, including skin disorders, oncology-related presentations, mental health patterns, and joint or limb problems. In practice, tongue observation often provides valuable insight even before a patient begins describing their symptoms.
In addition to the methods above, I regularly use local bloodletting techniques, which can be very effective for improving circulation, reducing swelling, and relieving pain. I also incorporate auricular (ear) acupressure and stimulation, which I commonly use for allergies, insomnia, headaches, stress management, and various internal conditions.
In my clinical work, I value taking the time to listen carefully to each patient and to understand their overall health, lifestyle, and concerns. Based on each individual’s condition, I also provide personalised dietary guidance and lifestyle or wellness advice to support overall health and long-term wellbeing. I commonly support patients with musculoskeletal pain, such as neck, shoulder, knee, and back pain, as well as stress-related conditions, sleep issues, migraines, digestive concerns, and women’s health and fertility-related conditions.