Zhou Liang (name changed), 47, worked in a local textile factory. In her youth, she was known as the “factory beauty” — cheerful, confident, and full of energy. After marriage, she led a comfortable, happy life with her husband and friends, enjoying the simple pleasures of family and home-cooked meals.
Eventually, when she could no longer ignore her symptoms, Liang finally went for a checkup. What the doctors found shocked her family. Tests revealed that she was already in the late stages of diabetes — a stage where even insulin treatment could no longer stabilize her condition.
Her husband was devastated. “She looked so healthy,” he told doctors, unable to accept the news. “How could this happen so suddenly?”
Despite all medical efforts, Liang passed away shortly after her diagnosis. She was only 47.
The Surprising Role of a Common Spice
To understand what had gone wrong, doctors examined Liang’s daily diet. What they found offered a valuable lesson for families everywhere.
Liang loved to cook. Her favorite ingredient — one she added to nearly every meal — was soy sauce. She used it for stir-fries, soups, marinades, and even poured extra on her rice for flavor.
Soy sauce itself isn’t harmful in moderation. Made from fermented soybeans, wheat, and water, it can add depth and aroma to food. But it’s also very high in sodium. When used excessively, the salt content can overload the body with sodium ions, leading to dehydration, blood pressure fluctuations, and difficulties regulating blood sugar.
For someone with diabetes or prediabetes, this excess sodium can make it harder for the body to use insulin efficiently, allowing glucose levels to rise in the bloodstream. Over time, this contributes to worsening symptoms and potential complications such as kidney strain and cardiovascular stress.
The lesson, doctors emphasized, isn’t that soy sauce must be completely avoided — but rather that balance and moderation are crucial, especially for individuals living with diabetes or high blood pressure.
