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Peripheral Neuropathy: How To Avoid It, Manage It, Treat It
Plus: two exciting new developments in Alzheimer's research
The 10almonds Team
July 19, 2023
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⏰ IN A RUSH?
Today’s 30-Second Summary
If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:
Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage, usually of the extremities. It can be caused by such things as:
Diabetes
Alcoholism
Infection
Injury
We can help avoid this, by avoiding those things if possible.
If we do end up with peripheral neuropathy, there are things we can do to manage it, that mostly pertain to keeping a healthy blood flow, and not exacerbating any relevant injury.
We can also help heal and regrow neurons in our peripheral nervous system, with lion’s mane mushroom. Sounds suspect, we know, but there’s actually a huge body of science for this.
Omega-3 fatty acids have a lot of health benefits—including for the joints—but not all sources are created equal
Today's sponsor, NativePath, are offering a convenient, sustainable, and highly bioavailable form—far better than cod liver oil!
Read on to learn about these things and more…
👀 WATCH AND LEARN
Change your diet, extend your life | Dr. Morgan Levine
Former Yale Professor Morgan Levine shares 3 ways to change your diet to extend your life:
Longevity menu:
Prefer text? Click here to read the transcript!
📍 MAIN FEATURE
Peripheral neuropathy (and what can be done about it)
Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage, usually of the extremities. It can be caused by such things as:
Diabetes
Alcoholism
Infection
Injury
The manifestations can be different:
In the case of diabetes, it’s also called diabetic neuropathy, and almost always affects the feet first.
In the case of alcoholism, it is more generalized, but tends towards affecting the extremities first.
In the case of infection, a lot depends on the nature of the infection and the body’s response.
In the case of injury, it’ll naturally be the injured part, or a little “downstream” of the injured part.
This could be the case of a single traumatic injury (e.g. hand got trapped in a slammed door)
This could be the case of a repetitive injury (carpal tunnel syndrome is a kind of peripheral neuropathy, and is usually caused by consistent misalignment of the carpal tunnel, the aperture through which a bundle of nerves make their way from the forearm to the hand)
Prevention is better than cure
If you already have peripheral neuropathy, don’t worry, we’ll get to that. But, if you can, prevention is better than cure. This means:
Diabetes: if you can, avoid. This may seem like no-brainer advice, but it’s often something people don’t think about until hitting a pre-diabetic stage. Obviously, if you are Type 1 Diabetic, you don’t have this luxury. But in any case, whatever your current status, take care of your blood sugars as best you can, so that your blood can take care of you (and your nerves) in turn. You might want to check out our previous main feature about this:
Alcoholism: obviously avoid, if you can. You might like this previous edition of 10almonds addressing this:
Infection: this is so varied that one-liner advice is really just “try to look after your immune health”.
We’ll do a main feature on this soon!
Injury: obviously, try to be careful. But that goes for the more insidious version too! For example, if you spend a lot of time at your computer, consider an ergonomic mouse and keyboard.
There are many kinds available, so read reviews, but here’s an example product on Amazon
Writer’s note: as you might guess, I spend a lot of time at my computer, and a lot of that time, writing. I additionally spend a lot of time reading. I also have assorted old injuries from my more exciting life long ago. Because of this, it’s been an investment in my health to have:
A standing desk
A vertical ergonomic mouse
An ergonomic split keyboard
A Kindle*
*Far lighter and more ergonomic than paper books. Don’t get me wrong, I’m writing to you from a room that also contains about a thousand paper books and I dearly love those too, but more often than not, I read on my e-reader for comfort and ease.
If you already have peripheral neuropathy
Most advice popular on the Internet is just about pain management, but what if we want to treat the cause rather than the symptom?
Let’s look at the things commonly suggested: try ice, try heat, try acupuncture, try spicy rubs (from brand names like Tiger Balm, to home-made chilli ointments), try meditation, try a warm bath, try massage.
And, all of these are good options; do you see what they have in common?
It’s about blood flow. And that’s why they can help even in the case of peripheral neuropathy that’s not painful (it can also manifest as numbness, and/or tingling sensations).
By getting the blood flowing nicely through the affected body part, the blood can nourish the nerves and help them function correctly. This is, in effect, the opposite of what the causes of peripheral neuropathy do.
But also don’t forget: rest
Put your feet up (literally! But we’re talking horizontal here, not elevated past the height of your heart)
Rest that weary wrist that has carpal tunnel syndrome (again, resting it flat, so your hand position is aligned with your forearm, so the nerves between are not kinked)
Use a brace if necessary to help the affected part stay aligned correctly
You can get made-for-purpose wrist and ankle braces—you can also get versions that are made for administering hot/cold therapy, too. That’s just an example product linked that we can recommend; by all means read reviews and choose for yourself, though. Try them and see what helps.
One more top tip
We did a feature not long back on lion’s mane mushroom, and it’s single most well-established, well-researched, well-evidenced, completely uncontested benefit is that it aids peripheral neurogenesis, that is to say, the regrowth and healing of the peripheral nervous system.
So you might want to check that out:
❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE
Convenient, sustainable, highly bioavailable omega-3s (and more)
We've mentioned their other products before, and with good reason. NativePath's mission is very much aligned with our own: they want to help people live their healthiest lives possible.
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Krill oil: oil from krill, tiny creatures that are a potent (and sustainable!) source of omega-3 fatty acids, in a highly bioavailable form
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Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free
🌎 AROUND THE WEB
What’s happening in the health world…
More to come tomorrow!
📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW
Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age - by Dr. Mary Pipher
Ageism is rife, as is misogyny. And those can be internalized too, and compounded as they intersect.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Mary Pipher, herself 75, writes for us a guidebook of, as the subtitle goes, "navigating life's currents and flourishing as we age".
The book does assume, by the way, that the reader is...
a woman, and
getting old (if not already old)
However, the lessons the book imparts are vital for women of any age, and valuable as a matter of insight and perspective for any reader.
Dr. Pipher takes us on a tour of aging as a woman, and what parts of it we can make our own, do things our way, and take what joy we can from it.
Nor is the book given to "toxic positivity" though—it also deals with themes of hardship, frustration, and loss.
When it comes to those elements, the book is... honest, human, and raw. But also, an exhortation to hope, beauty, and a carpe diem attitude.
Bottom line: this book is highly recommendable to anyone of any age; life is precious and can be short. And be we blessed with many long years, this book serves as a guide to making each one of them count.
What did you think of today's newsletter?We always love to hear from you, whether you leave us a comment or even just a click in the poll if you're speeding by! |
May you go always from strength to strength,
The 10almonds Team