Modify Your Diet If You Want To Avoid Nerve Damage

Today's post from everydayhealth.com (see link below) is an article with several pieces of advice that people prone to nerve damage should perhaps heed. It's all related to your general dietary patterns but also quite rightly points out that the nervous system is susceptible to damage through toxins and these are just as likely to appear in your diet as in the air you breathe and the liquids you drink. Just reading this article will alert you to potential dangers in your current diet and these are made worse if you already have neuropathy symptoms. The article is by no means conclusive or even extensive but is a good starting point to maybe sitting down with yourself and taking an honest look at what you take into your body and identifying things you maybe should cut back on. Remember, once your nervous system is compromised, there's no current cure and you can't turn back the clock, so in the case of diet, forewarned is definitely forearmed!

How Diet Can Play a Role in Neuropathy Prevention and Management
By Sheryl Huggins Salomon Medically Reviewed by Samuel Mackenzie, MD, PhD Last Updated: 5/24/2018

There are several dietary factors, from drinking excess alcohol to having nutrient deficiencies, that can affect neuropathy.

 Your nerves need the right balance of nutrients to function properly, and they are also vulnerable to toxins. So what you eat and drink, as well as how your body absorbs the nutrients from what you consume, can contribute to or exacerbate neuropathy, or peripheral nerve damage.


If your doctor assesses you for neuropathy, you’ll likely receive blood and urine tests for related conditions such as type 2 diabetes and celiac disease, and be screened for nutrient deficiencies, excesses, and toxicities. (1,2)

Depending on the results, your doctor will guide you on how to adjust what you eat and may refer you to a registered dietitian (RD) or a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN).

But here are six general nutritional tips to keep in mind to help protect the health of your nerves.

1. Control Your Blood Sugar to Avoid Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetes, a disease characterized by blood glucose (sugar) levels that are too high (called hyperglycemia), is the most common cause of neuropathy.

People with diabetic neuropathy should eat to maintain the blood glucose levels their doctors recommend, which includes limiting sweets, beverages with added sugar, and large portions of foods that are high in starches or carbohydrates. Instead, opt for a diet that leans toward portion-controlled high-fiber/whole grains, vegetables, fruits, low- or nonfat dairy, and lean proteins like boneless, skinless chicken breast, fish, and turkey. Taking these measures may not reverse existing nerve damage, but will help you to avoid further harm. If you have diabetes but no neuropathic symptoms, you can control your blood sugar to help keep nerve damage from developing in the first place. (3,4,5)

2. Get Enough Vitamin B12 and Other Nutrients to Help Prevent Neuropathy

Regardless of whether you want to prevent neuropathy or stop its progress, making sure your body is receiving the nutrients it needs is key.

Vitamin B12 deficiency, which is prevalent in 10 to 15 percent of people over age 60, has been linked to neuropathy in particular. The deficiency causes damage to the myelin sheaths that surround and protect nerves. Your nerves won’t function properly without this protection.

Food sources of vitamin B12 include fish, meat, poultry, eggs, and milk and other types of dairy. Your doctor or dietitian may also recommend oral or injectable supplements of vitamin B12.

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of the nutrient for most people age 14 and older is 24 micrograms (mcg), though women who are pregnant or lactating should aim to take in 26 mcg and 28 mcg, respectively.


More on the Importance of B Vitamins



8 Surprising Health Benefits of B Vitamins Chronic use of the type 2 diabetes drug Glucophage (metformin) is linked to vitamin B12 deficiency, so if you are taking the medication, be sure to work with your doctor to monitor your levels of the nutrient. Matthew Villani, a doctor of podiatric medicine at Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford, Florida, says he often prescribes the multivitamin Metanx, which includes B12, B6, and folate (B9), to his patients with diabetic neuropathy. (6,7,8,9,10)

Norman Latov, MD, PhD, a neurologist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, says copper deficiency is another possible cause of neuropathy, though these cases tend to be rare. “Some people, because of their metabolism or absorption, are copper deficient, which can also cause neuropathy or myelopathy, meaning spinal cord disease.” Beef, nuts, and legumes are sources of dietary copper, but Latov says people who are deficient often can’t correct that through diet alone. The condition can be treated with injectable and oral supplements. (11,12)

3. Watch Your Intake of Vitamin B6, Because Too Much of the Nutrient May Lead to Neuropathy

Getting too much of a nutrient can also lead to neuropathy, Dr. Latov cautions. Vitamin B6 is particularly problematic because in excess, it can be toxic to the nerves.

The RDA of vitamin B6 is 2 milligrams (mg) per day, Latov says, but many B6 supplements may contain 100 mg or more. Doses of greater than 200 mg may cause neuropathy, as well as fatigue, problems with movement and breathing, and vomiting. These symptoms appear to be reversible after use is stopped.

“B6 is also an additive to all sorts of packaged foods,” Latov says. “Susceptibility [to absorbing the nutrient] varies, so if you take B6 supplements, you really should have your blood levels checked to make sure they’re not in excess.” (13)




Article
Are You at Risk of Neuropathy? 11 Causes of the Condition You Should Know


Multiple factors — from diet and lifestyle choices to your genes — can influence your chance of developing neuropathy. Learn about the top risk factors in this detailed article.

4. Avoid Mercury and Other Toxins in Your Food That Are Linked to Neuropathy

Avoiding toxins can help to protect the health of your nerves, and close attention to what is in your food can benefit your entire family.

Even seemingly healthy foods can contain contaminants, which may play a role in the development of neuropathy, Latov says. “Some people eat lots of seafood in their diet, but [seafood] can also contain lots of mercury,” he says. The organic source of mercury he is talking about, known as methylmercury, is present in most people at low levels because it contaminates nearly all fish and seafood.

Most people have blood mercury levels below levels associated with possible adverse health effects such as neuropathy. In the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals in 2009, the amount of mercury found in the blood of people age 6 and older was 33 micrograms (mcg) per liter. A level of 85 mcg per liter in fetal cord blood is associated with early neurodevelopmental effects.

Consuming large quantities of fish can increase a person’s exposure to mercury. At sufficiently high levels, mercury poisoning is linked to paresthesia (the burning and prickling sensations felt by people with neuropathy) as well as central nervous problems. Mercury exposure also increases the risk of neurological damage in developing fetuses and young children.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that children, as well as women who are breast-feeding, pregnant, or who may become pregnant, avoid large fish, including king mackerel, swordfish, shark, orange roughy, marlin, and bigeye tuna. Larger fish that have lived longer generally have higher mercury levels because they have had more time to accumulate it in their bodies. Safer options include canned light tuna, whiting, catfish, tilapia, clams, and shrimp. The agency also recommends that women age 16 to 49 have two to three servings of fish per week from the “best choices” list, while children older than 2 receive one to two servings. You can learn more about safe fish options on the FDA website. (14,15,16,17,18,19,20)


More on Potential Toxins in Your Diet

The Best Types of Fish to Eat for Better Heart Health “Brown rice can have high arsenic levels, and that can cause neuropathy, too,” says Latov. Arsenic can slow down nerve signals and result in pain or other sensory problems. Most rice, whether brown or white, has some level of arsenic in it, but because arsenic tends to accumulate in the outer layers of rice, the brown variety has higher levels. The European Union has recommended that rice and rice products eaten by children have no more than 100 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic. But in 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested 112 such products and found them to have an average of 103 ppb of inorganic arsenic. The FDA’s general recommendation is to eat a well-balanced diet that does not include “an excess of any one food.” Consumer Reports has a guide to arsenic levels in different varieties of rice. (21,22)


5. Limit or Avoid Alcohol to Help Prevent or Stop the Progress of Neuropathy

Heavy alcohol use can result in malabsorption of the nutrients needed for healthy nerves, such as vitamin B12, as well as direct poisoning of nerves. Symptoms of alcohol-related neuropathy include nerve pain, tingling, burning, muscle weakness and cramps, erectile dysfunction, and heat intolerance. If you are already experiencing these symptoms and your doctor determines they are alcohol-related, the best course of action to help manage your symptoms is to stop drinking alcohol. (23,24)


6. Understand Your Relationship to Gluten if Celiac Disease Caused Your Nerve Damage

Celiac disease is a risk factor for neuropathy, so you’ll want to be screened for the autoimmune condition if you aren’t sure of the cause behind your symptoms. That’s because diet is the primary management and treatment tool for celiac. Namely, people with this condition must avoid the protein gluten, which is found in certain types of bread and even makeup products.

Celiac involves damage to the small intestine caused by extreme intolerance to gluten, and it can result in malabsorption of vital nutrients that then lead to nerve damage. Furthermore, gluten sensitivity, which is far less severe, is also linked to neuropathic symptoms, so you’ll want to make sure you’re screened for this condition if you want to get to the bottom of what is causing neuropathy in your case.


More on Things That Have Gluten




There’s Gluten in That? 13 Surprising Items That Contain the Protein At Loma Linda University Health in Loma Linda, California, part of the neuropathy screening is testing for celiac disease, says Bryan Tsao, MD, a neurologist and the director of the Rehabilitation, Orthopedic, and Neuroscience Institute there. Blood testing and a biopsy of the lining of the small intestine can be included in celiac disease screening. Beyond that, “We generally encourage patients to try a gluten-free diet,” Dr. Tsao says, even if they're not gluten intolerant, with the idea that it may help and won’t hurt. “We usually encourage patients to try that for a few months before giving up on it” if symptoms don’t improve. (25,26,27)

Resources

The Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements

Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking

See More

https://www.everydayhealth.com/neuropathy/diet-understanding-connection/