Let’s start with some basics. Diabetes is a disease that affects a lot of people, around 37 million in the United States alone.
This is a condition where the body struggles to control the amount of sugar in the blood. Now, if diabetes is not managed properly, it can lead to some problems.
One of these problems is something called diabetic neuropathy, a fancy name for nerve damage due to high sugar levels in the blood.
It can make you feel pain and numbness, mostly in your hands and feet.
Nerve Damage: The Problem with Diabetes
In fact, about half of people who have diabetes might end up with this nerve damage. It can be painful and even stop them from moving around easily.
There are medicines that can help reduce the pain, but doctors and scientists are keen to understand why some people with diabetes end up with this nerve damage and others don’t.
By figuring this out, they can come up with ways to stop it from happening in the first place.
A Study with Answers
There’s a group of doctors at a place called Michigan Medicine who decided to find out more.
They wanted to understand if there’s a connection between certain types of fats in our bodies, called lipids, and this nerve damage. Lipids are the organic compounds that make up fats and oils in our bodies.
The doctors took blood samples from about 70 people with diabetes from the Gila River Indian community. They kept these samples safe and then, ten years later, they checked these people for nerve damage.
Lipids: The Clues in the Blood
When they looked at these blood samples, they analyzed a whopping 435 different types of lipids. That’s a lot of lipids!
They then published their findings in a medical journal called the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
What they discovered was really interesting. The people who ended up having nerve damage had changes in their lipids that showed their bodies were not able to turn food into energy as efficiently as they should.
In fact, these changes were visible in the blood samples ten years before these people even developed nerve damage.
How Lipids Affect Our Nerves
Now, let’s understand what these lipids do. Lipids are turned into energy for our nerves through a process called b-oxidation. This process is like a power station for the nerves.
But if this power station isn’t working properly, the nerves don’t get enough energy and they start to get damaged, leading to neuropathy.
The doctors found that the people who ended up having nerve damage had a problem with this b-oxidation process.
A Healthier Diet: The Solution?
One of the doctors, a lady named Eva L. Feldman, believes that the type of lipids we have in our bodies might be influenced by the food we eat.
She says that healthy, unsaturated fats, like the ones found in a Mediterranean-type diet, might be better for our nerves.
This Mediterranean diet is filled with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats like olive oil. It also includes fish, poultry, beans, and eggs. You’d also limit your intake of sweets and red meats.
Exercise: Another Piece of the Puzzle
Dr. Feldman also believes that exercise might help the b-oxidation process work more efficiently.
In other words, if you eat healthy and exercise, your body’s “power station” might work better, providing your nerves with the energy they need, and this could stop you from getting nerve damage.
Looking Ahead
The doctors are excited about their findings. They think that, with more research, they might be able to help people with diabetes avoid nerve damage by changing their diet and lifestyle.
But for now, remember, if you have diabetes, try to eat healthily, exercise regularly, and always follow your doctor’s advice. It might just keep your nerves healthy!
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about the key cause of type 2 diabetes, and this eating habit could help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies about unhealthy plant-based diets linked to metabolic syndrome, and results showing ultrasound may help reverse type 2 diabetes.
The study was published in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
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