Pressure points can help manage diabetes — medic

Sharjah: Pressing some pressure points in your body using your finger, along with taking medicine, can help provide additional therapy to diabetics and manage this condition, a doctor said in a seminar on managing diabetes.

Diabetes affects one in four people in the UAE, according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). To raise awareness on the causes and proper management of diabetes, the Rehman Foundation Pakistan conducted a seminar on Thursday.

Dr Waqar Ahmad Niaz, the foundation's co-chairman, talked about the physiological complications of diabetes, taking note of the functions of the pancreas down to its cellular level.

When the pancreas produce too little insulin — the hormone that aids the body process sugar in the bloodstream — or does not properly use the insulin it produces, diabetes occurs.

As diabetes may be caused by genetics or poor lifestyle, Dr Javaid Iqbal, a pioneer Body Energy Level Test consultant, said something can be done at home as well as taking medicines, having a healthy lifestyle and diet.

"We have some points over the human body which are called endocrine points in acupuncture. Giving a firm finger pressure over these points stimulates the nerves to the pancreas and hence pancreatic activity is enhanced," he told Gulf News.

Knowing these pressure points and doing this twice daily can help give additional therapy for diabetics besides taking medicine.

"Sugar control pressure points are located over the shoulders, above the apex of the ears, on the sides of the neck, over the eyes and on the palm. These points work miraculously," Dr Iqbal said.

Dr Iqbal added educating people about these pressure points is important to help diabetics handle stress brought about by the disease. Zafar Khan, an NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) specialist, joined Dr Iqbal and Dr Niaz in the seminar.

Global pandemic

Diabetes is a global pandemic affecting nearly more than 360 million people worldwide. IDF figures show by 2030 the number of people with diabetes will increase to more 552 million or three new people will be diagnosed with diabetes every ten seconds.