Natural Remedies For Diabetic Neuropathy!

About one in five type 2 diabetics develops a chronic, painful nerve condition called diabetic neuropathy. Nerve tissues absorb sorbitol and cease to function. The exact mechanisms of diabetic neuropathy are hard to describe, but as nerve cells die, remaining nerve cells constantly tell the brain: "We're here! We're here!" by sending signals of burning pain 24 hours a day.

Diabetic neuropathy affects 60 to 70 per cent of all diabetics. Symptoms may range from mild loss of sensation in your feet, right through to constant pain in various parts of your body. Nerve damage may also impair digestion and sexual function, particularly in males, and can also be responsible for a number of other complications.

For 50 years or more, doctors have used antidepressants to treat neuropathy. Antidepressants activate the regions of your brain that can shut out nerve pain. An old-style antidepressant medication called amitryptyline that has been on the market so long it now costs just US $4 for a 30-day supply, and works for many type 2 diabetics who suffer chronic nerve pain. And the antidepressant medication fluvoxamine (Luvox) also can be helpful.

The downside of antidepressants is that they encourage weight gain and they have unpredictable effects on mood. Many type 2 diabetics look at ways of controlling the pain of neuropathy without the expense or side effects of antidepressant medication.

Probably the best non-drug treatment for neuropathy caused by type 2 diabetes, is alpha-lipoic acid. Taken in a dosage of 1,000 to 2,000 mg a day, it acts by first relieving numbness and then relieving pain in most diabetics who take it. An additional benefit of taking alpha-lipoic acid is that it can shore up sagging jaw lines and waistlines, by encouraging the circulation of fluid out of the tissues between fat cells.

If you take alpha-lipoic acid, be sure you also take the B vitamin biotin, as this anti-oxidant depletes biotin. You would need to take 100 mg of biotin for every 1,000 mg of alpha-lipoic acid.

Some natural health products manufacturers also offer R-lipoic acid. This is the alpha-lipoic acid produced by a different process that results in a supplement that is 100% utilized by the body. (About 55% of the product made in traditional manufacture is an isomer of the chemical that is not recognized by human cells). If you take R-lipoic-acid, take half much, plus 200 mg of biotin for every 1,000 mg of R-lipoic-acid.

Would you like more information about alternative ways to handle your type 2 diabetes?

To download your free copy of my E-Book, click here now: Answers to Your Questions ...its based on questions many diabetics have asked me over recent months.

Beverleigh Piepers is a registered nurse who would like to help you understand how to live easily and happily with your type 2 diabetes.
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Natural Approaches to Cope With Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy is a condition characterized by nerve damage in feet as a result of a long history of diabetes. Neuropathy in feet and hands usually develops in patients with poorly controlled blood sugar, arterial pressure and who are significantly overweight. Individuals affected by this unfortunate condition will develop toe numbness, significant loss of feelings in both feet and hands, tingling and burning sensations especially at the end of the day.

Symmetrical presentation of diabetic neuropathy in both feet or both hands is a very important clue for your doctor to be able to identify the exact cause of your symptoms. In case you are experiencing tingling and loss of feeling only in one foot or one hand, the actual culprit for your condition might be of other nature.

In medical history nerve damage due to elevated blood sugar levels is classified into four groups depending on what nerve areas are affected causing the specific symptoms presented in a patient. Autonomic neuropathy significantly affects digestive function leading to bowel, bladder and even sexual problems. Peripheral neuropathy will cause discomfort in upper and lower extremities, numbness and burning feelings. Focal nerve damage can show up in virtually any area of the body. Finally, proximal type of neuropathy leads to nerve damage in the hip area, namely, buttocks, hips and thighs.

Traditional medicine offers very little support for diabetic patients and resorts to merely managing the symptoms and failing to look deeply into the actual underlying causes of this condition.

Alternative medicine, on the other hand, offers a myriad of natural approaches and remedies to manage both causes and symptoms of the diabetic neuropathy.

Alpha Lipoic acid has been proven to be very effective in managing diabetes and its symptoms. Taking 20 to 50 mg daily is in most cases sufficient in controlling neuropathy especially if initiated at earlier stages of the disease.

Acetyl L-carnitine is another important natural remedy for naturopathy and works by addressing muscle pain and improves mood. If taken at doses of 100 to 300 mgs 3 times per week, it was shown to not cause side effects of over stimulation.

B group vitamins are essential ingredients in any natural treatment of diabetic nerve damage, they additionally support heart function, promote good mood, mental clarity and give you lots of energy naturally.

Ginko Biloba extract has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries and should be included as your treatment for managing pain and discomfort associated with diabetic neuropathy. This traditional supplement significantly improves cognitive function and improves blood circulation.

The most common natural treatments to manage pain that comes hand in hand with nerve damage is acupuncture and massage. Both of these natural techniques will promote a sense of relaxation and well-being triggering the production of endorphins, natural pain killers.

Diet and moderate exercise are one of the most important natural ways to deal with neuropathy along with taking herbs and vitamins. All these factors will bring your blood sugar under control, since poorly controlled blood sugar will cause further deterioration of nerve fibers leading to worsening of your symptoms.

Caroline Hawthorn is one of the authors of the new health information blog www.HealthArticles101.com.

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