Neuropathy in type 2 diabetics

Neuropathy in type 2 diabetics

There has been a massive increase of neuropathy in type 2 diabetics over the past decade. I think this is probably tied to the massive increase in type 2 diabetes. (Good thinking, I know). This wave of diabetes and neuropathy comes on the heels of our very modern diet. By modern, I mean in the past 40 years.

Prior to 40 years ago, our western diet consisted of meat, veggies, slightly processed grains, and fat. Plenty of fat. I have a friend that told me a story about when he was growing up in the Canadian winter in the 1940’s. His mom would feed them breakfast before he went out the door and it often consisted of a thick slab of lard, on a slice of bread.

We ate a lot of fat before the enlightenment happened in the 1960’s and 70s. That was when Ancel Keys published his Seven Countries Study and suddenly fat was the enemy, and carbohydrates became the main staple we are supposed to eat. Now I could write a whole book on that, but since there are already some good books out there, I’ll just suggest you get one, and read up on it yourself.

The Lie

The point here is it’s not your fault. We’ve all been fed a lie – that we should avoid fat, and eat more grains and carbs. It makes me angry when someone points the finger at you and says – you’re fat and diabetic because you don’t eat right – you just ate the way they told you to.

I’m not going to lie to you here, they taste good! Doughnuts, Coke, Froot Loops, Candy, Garlic Toast – they all taste wonderful.

The problem is, however, that we are not well suited to eating most of our calories from carbohydrate. As we get older, we begin to become carbohydrate intolerant. This means that the carbohydrates (which are processed by the digestive system, and enter the blood as sugar) elevate our blood sugar, and make our body produce extra insulin. Over time the cells of the body become accustomed to the high level of insulin and don’t absorb sugar as well as they used to. This causes our blood sugar to rise, and our pancreas to produce more insulin, which then repeats the cycle.

This rising blood sugar is bad news. Which is why your doctor does tests regularly and prescribes metformin and metformin combination drugs (Janumet, Invokamet etc) High blood sugars are very damaging to body cells, but especially your small fiber nerves, kidney, and eye. The formation of Advanced Glycation Endproducts (I know, big word – it’s the way the high blood glucose damages your body) or AGE’s totally mess with the normal function of your nerves, kidney, and eye.

Damaged goods

The damage to the nerves is precisely what causes your torment. This is why tight control of blood sugar is very important to prevent neuropathy in type 2 diabetics. But is it enough to stop and reverse the symptoms of neuropathy?

If your goal is to eliminate the shocks, numbness, tingling and burning in your feet and hands, it might work if you are early in your diabetic journey. Once you get past a certain point, controlling blood glucose alone isn’t enough. You need to get serious about your neuropathy before it gets serious.

Don’t panic. There is a solution. It’s what we’re all about here at NeuroWellness.