Diabetes is the most common cause and causes about half of all cases of neuropathy. Yes, excessive alcohol consumption can cause neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy can result from traumatic injuries, infections, metabolic problems, hereditary causes, and exposure to toxins. One of the most common causes is diabetes.
However, if you have a vitamin D deficiency, it can worsen or cause neuropathic pain. Neuropathy can affect nerves that control muscle movement (motor nerves) and those that detect sensations such as cold or pain (sensory nerves). In some cases, it can affect internal organs, such as the heart, blood vessels, bladder, or intestines. Neuropathy that affects the internal organs is called autonomic neuropathy.
This rare condition can cause low blood pressure or problems with sweating. Like many other health conditions, peripheral neuropathy can be managed with proper diet and nutrition as a tool. One of the best ways to manage the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy is to manage any medical condition that puts it at risk. This may include controlling your blood sugar if you have diabetes or controlling alcohol consumption if that is related to a health problem.
Effective treatment of neuropathy is often combined with dietary guidelines that can protect your health. In addition to this follow-up, general nutrition advice is often good for the body and helps prevent the disease from becoming a problem. Read on for a list of foods that can be problematic if you already have peripheral neuropathy. It is increasingly common to recognize that gluten allergies, people sensitive to gluten and celiac disease are problematic, and this is especially true for people with peripheral neuropathy.
Common sources of gluten include any food with white, wheat, cake or baking flour as an ingredient. Gluten is also found in some unexpected foods, such as traditional soy sauce, so it's important to read product labels and look for products marked as gluten-free. Consuming gluten when your body cannot digest it properly can cause inflammation, which worsens the inflammation of the nerves seen in patients with peripheral neuropathy. As a neurotoxin, alcohol has the potential to damage nerves.
Even a healthy person who drinks too much may begin to experience symptoms such as numbness, pain, and tingling in the hands or feet, known as alcoholic neuropathy. When this happens, a person's peripheral nerves are damaged by exposure to alcohol, making them unable to transmit signals between the body, spinal cord, and brain properly. This can aggravate existing nervous problems. Processed grains have a high glycemic index, which means they can also increase blood sugar.
Controlling blood sugar is actually the best thing you can do to prevent peripheral neuropathy associated with diabetes, so this may be important. Improving the glycemic impact of your diet is an important step you should take. This can be achieved by replacing refined grains with whole grains whenever possible. Learn more about the symptoms of peripheral neuropathy.
People with neuropathy should ask their doctors to minimize the use of medications that are known to cause or worsen neuropathy when alternatives are available.