If you are a diabetic you may have started to feel a tingling in your feet or toes. This is often caused by diabetic nerve pain. Reduced blood flow and high blood glucose levels often leads to damaged peripheral nerves.  These damaged nerves cause sensations such as a tingle at first, transform to a pain (sometimes severe) and can end up with numb extremities or ultimately end in amputation as time goes  on. This is partly caused and exacerbated by reduced blood flow in the extremeities which is caused by a number of combined factors.

There is no known cure for nerve damage. Diabetic neuropathy as this is known, is not ideal, but that doesn’t mean diabetic patients should give up. The pain and discomfort experienced as part of diabetic neuropathy can and has been successfully managed.

Neuropathy is often caused by high blood glucose that interferes with a nerves ability to send and receive signals. Considering that this is a nerve’s main  job  that resulting neuropathy is a major  problem. It also reduces the effectiveness and efficiency of the walls of the small sensitive blood vessels  (capillaries) that carry vital nutrients and oxygen to the localized area and the nerve. Without that  oxygen and nutrients, the nerves and surrounding tissue cannot function properly and over time  function is reduced as damage is done.

This can be exacerbated by using alcohol or tobacco, poor diet and even vitamin deficiencies.  That  tingling sensation you feel is often malnourished or suffocating nerves misfiring. Think of them as an alarm.

There are a number of ways to treat neuropathy, such as pain management, antidepressants, anti-seizure meds, and other techniques. These things can be quite expensive; they usually aren’t what some would consider natural and they often come with some pretty big side effects. They also do not affect the health of the nerves, so in essence they treat the symptoms and not the cause.

With the advent of modern medicine, we also see lot of junk product. We see multi-vitamins that do not do the job they claim, and it’s hard to separate the good from the bad. We often recommend a good multivitamin to combat some of the issues related to neuropathy as an alternate path to help improve nerve health. Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamin B, and Omega-3s are very common in multi-vitamins targeted at nerve health.

If you do decide to try a good multivitamin to help manage your nerve issues of any type, we recommend shopping with a company that provides a lot of support and documentation for the product. A good study on the products benefits is a necessity and be sure that you never buy a multi- vitamin without consulting your clinician and getting a guarantee of some sort from the company providing it to you. Do not go to a pharmacy and try to pick one out yourself. You are paying the doctor already, why not get his/her opinion.

You will hear that multi-vitamins can’t really affect certain degenerative conditions for parts of the body, but consider the success of multi-vitamins in eye health over recent years. If you’ve been to the doctor lately and you have a problem with your eyes it is very possible they have recommended a multi-vitamin formula that contains a lot of omega-3 fatty acids. Look at the success of glucosamine and chondroitin on joint health and see how quickly these words have found their way into our public discourse. We are finding out how important what you eat is to your overall health and discovering new paths every day.

Trying a good nerve health supplement is definitely recommended if you are starting to experience neuropathy. Be sure to consult your clinician, and make sure your body has enough of what it needs to combat the effects of diabetes.

*The author of this blog is not a medical professional and this article does not contain professional medical advice. This blog is not intended to substitute for medical advice, treatment, or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of the contents of this article. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call 911 immediately.