Peripheral neuropathy: How identifying two major causes could reverse this condition

One in ten people over the age of 55 are affected. How to avoid being the one in ten

Peripheral neuropathy can be painful and debilitating. It can also be reversible, if the cause is diet related. The trouble is that if you never suspect diet, you’ll never know. So let’s look at diet.

PN is a condition that affects the peripheral nervous system, the part that extends beyond the brain and spinal cord. The areas most affected are the arms, legs, hands and feet.

Symptoms include:

• Numbing or tingling in the hands or feet

• Burning or shooting pains

• Poor balance and/or coordination

• Muscle weakness, especially in the feet

Diabetes – both type 1 and 2 - is the number one cause. That’s because high blood sugar damages the nerves.

Other causes of PN include:

• The shingles virus and other infections

• Physical damage to the nerves

• Excessive alcohol intake

• Underactive thyroid gland

• Autoimmune disorders

When the cause is unknown, it is called ‘idiopathic neuropathy’.

This is where it gets interesting, because apart from diabetes type 2, there are two well established, but generally ignored dietary causes that can easily be addressed.

The first is vitamin B12 deficiency. PN is seen in 25% of patients with low B12, and recent research has revealed that deficiency is probably far more common than previously thought.