MCVitamins News
Your Nutritional Education Site
1. Causes of Neuropathy
2. Neuropathy, A Diabetic Side
Effect: How to Decrease or Eliminate This Problem
3. Top 12 Foods for a Healthy Immune Response
4. Can Parasites protect you from Allergies?
What are the causes of
Neuropathy?
Neuropathy is nerve damage.
It creates nerve pain. When
the nerve breaks down due to disease, chemical toxins, trauma, etc., the myelin
sheath begins to break down. This
creates a short circuit similar to what happens when a wire loses its insulating
cover. The damage can continue and the symptoms of this damage
will get worse.
What causes it? Here is a list of
causes………………
Alcoholism
- Thiamine (B1) deficiency, in particular, is common among people with
alcoholism because they often also have poor dietary habits. Thiamine deficiency
can cause a painful neuropathy of the extremities. Some researchers believe that
excessive alcohol consumption may, in itself, contribute directly to nerve
damage, a condition referred to as alcoholic neuropathy.
Amyloidosis
(metabolic disorder) an disorder where a protein called amyloid is deposited in
tissues and organs. Amyloidosis can affect peripheral sensory, motor or
autonomic nerves and deposition of amyloid lead to degeneration and dysfunction
in these nerves.
Anemia - See Vitamin
Deficiencies. A diet that lacks iron, folic acid (folate), or vitamin B12
can prevent your body from making enough red blood cells. A deficiency of iron
can effect nerve conduction. A lack of B12 damages the myelin sheath that
surrounds and protect nerves. Without this protection, nerves cease to function
properly and conditions such as peripheral neuropathy occur. Even B12 deficiency
that is relatively mild may affect the nervous system and the proper functioning
of the brain. The nerve damage caused by a lack of B12 may become permanently
debilitating, if the underlying condition is not treated.
Autoimmune disorders: Viral
and bacterial infections can also cause indirect nerve damage by provoking
conditions referred to as autoimmune disorders, in which specialized cells and
antibodies of the immune system attack the body's own tissues. These attacks
typically cause destruction of the nerve's myelin sheath or axon (the long fiber
that extends out from the main nerve cell body).
Bacterial Diseases - Lyme
disease, diphtheria, and leprosy are bacterial diseases characterized by
extensive peripheral nerve damage. Diphtheria and leprosy are now rare in the
United States, but Lyme disease is on the rise. It can cause a wide range of
neuropathic disorders, including a rapidly developing, painful polyneuropathy,
often within a few weeks after initial infection by a tick bite. See autoimmune
responses.
Bariatric Surgery – postoperative
nerve damage also known as peripheral neuropathy (PN)
Nutritional deficiencies can occur following this procedure due to
patients experiencing more weight loss than expected and post operative
complications.
Bell's Palsy - Bell's palsy results from upper respiratory
infections, viral infections such as those caused by infectious mononucleosis,
herpes, mumps, HIV viruses, and bacterial infections such as Lyme Disease.
Facial weakness from Bell's palsy is due to the facial nerve which is a nerve
that controls the muscles on the side of the face and it a form of peripheral
neuropathy.
Cancer – a
tumor can press on a nerve or entrap a nerve and cause damage
Cancer treatments See
Chemotherapy treatments and
Radiation Therapy below.
Carpal tunnel syndrome -
Carpus comes from the Greek word for wrist. The
wrist is surrounded by a band of fibrous tissue that normally functions as a
support for the joint. The tight space between this fibrous band and the wrist
bone is called the carpal tunnel. The median nerve passes through the carpal
tunnel to receive sensations from the thumb, index, and middle fingers of the
hand. Any condition that causes swelling or a change in position of the tissue
within the carpal tunnel can squeeze and irritate the median nerve. Irritation
of the median nerve in this manner causes tingling and numbness of the thumb,
index, and the middle fingers, a condition known as "carpal tunnel
syndrome." Thus, it can cause nerve damage.
Charcot Marie-Tooth disease -
See Inherited neuropathy below.
Chemotherapy Treatment – Chemotherapy
drugs are poisons that attack fast growing cells (rapidly dividing cells).
The theory behind using these toxins is that it will destroy the fast
growing cancer cells before it does much damage to normal cells.
Chemotherapy is hardest on the nervous system due to the fact that nerve
cells are more sensitive than other cells.
Chronic kidney failure - Chronic
kidney or renal failure (uremia) occurs when the kidneys gradually fail to
function properly. When the kidneys are impaired, fluids and waste products
accumulate in the body. In some cases, kidney failure can cause peripheral
neuropathy. Many conditions can cause kidney failure; the most common are
diabetes and high blood pressure.
Compression neuropathy -
pressure on an area. It is an inability to transmit nerve impulses because
compression has damaged nerve fibers either directly, or indirectly by
restricting their supply of oxygen. Compression can come from herniated discs in
the spine, osteoarthritis can cause bone spurs that can compress a nerve, severe
muscle injuries can compress nerves, and even prolonged use of tight clothing
such as shoes. It all depends on the nerve compressed.
Connective tissue disease (e.g.,
rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, sarcoidosis) Connective tissue disorders and
chronic inflammation can cause direct and indirect nerve damage. When the
multiple layers of protective tissue surrounding nerves become inflamed, the
inflammation can spread directly into nerve fibers. Chronic inflammation also
leads to the progressive destruction of connective tissue, making nerve fibers
more vulnerable to compression injuries and infections. Joints can become
inflamed and swollen and entrap nerves, causing pain.
Diabetes mellitus - the higher
than normal sugar levels create nerve damage. Chronic neuropathy can start when
the nerves are deprived of oxygen or anoxia.
Diphtheria - See Bacterial
Diseases
Drugs - Certain anticancer
drugs, anticonvulsants, antiviral agents, and antibiotics have side effects that
can include peripheral nerve damage, thus limiting their long-term use.
Metformin is a drug associated with B12 deficiency and thus nerve damage.
Epstein-Barr virus - See
Infections
Foods that are toxic - Some
foods and food additives have a direct toxic effect on the gastrointestinal
tract. Food allergies and intolerance can create nerve pain - neuropathy. MSG is
known to cause nerve damage.
Herniated disc - most
compressed nerves will cause inflammation but will get better. This is more
likely to cause problems when the nerve is squashed between the disc and an
adjacent bone.
Herpes - see Infections
HIV/AIDS - The human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, also causes extensive damage to
the central and peripheral nervous systems. The virus can cause several
different forms of neuropathy, each strongly associated with a specific stage of
active immunodeficiency disease. A rapidly progressive, painful polyneuropathy
affecting the feet and hands is often the first clinically apparent sign of HIV
infection.
Hormonal imbalances - can
disturb normal metabolic processes and cause neuropathies. For example, an
underproduction of thyroid hormones slows metabolism, leading to fluid retention
and swollen tissues that can exert pressure on peripheral nerves. Overproduction
of growth hormone can lead to acromegaly, a condition characterized by the
abnormal enlargement of many parts of the skeleton, including the joints. Nerves
running through these affected joints often become entrapped.
Idiopathic - when doctors
cannot find a specific cause
Immune System - See Inflammation
Inflammation
- Chronic inflammation also leads to the progressive destruction of connective
tissue, making nerve fibers more vulnerable to compression injuries and
infections. Joints can become inflamed and swollen and entrap nerves,
causing pain.
Some neuropathies are caused by inflammation resulting from immune system
activities rather than from direct damage by infectious organisms. Inflammatory
neuropathies can develop quickly or slowly, and chronic forms can exhibit a
pattern of alternating remission and relapse. Acute inflammatory demyelinating
neuropathy, better known as Guillain-Barré syndrome, can damage motor, sensory,
and autonomic nerve fibers. Most people recover from this syndrome although
severe cases can be life threatening. Chronic inflammatory demyelinating
polyneuropathy (CIDP), generally less dangerous, usually damages sensory and
motor nerves, leaving autonomic nerves intact. Multifocal motor neuropathy is a
form of inflammatory neuropathy that affects motor nerves exclusively; it may be
chronic or acute.
Infectious disease
(e.g., Lyme disease, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, leprosy) Infections and
autoimmune disorders can cause peripheral neuropathy. Viruses and bacteria that
can attack nerve tissues include herpes varicella-zoster (shingles),
Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex-members of the large
family of human herpes viruses. These viruses severely damage sensory nerves,
causing attacks of sharp, lightning-like pain. Postherpetic neuralgia often
occurs after an attack of shingles and can be particularly painful.
Inherited forms of peripheral
neuropathy are caused by inborn mistakes in the genetic code or by new
genetic mutations. Some genetic errors lead to mild neuropathies with symptoms
that begin in early adulthood and result in little, if any, significant
impairment. More severe hereditary neuropathies often appear in infancy or
childhood.
The most common inherited
neuropathies are a group of disorders collectively referred to as Charcot-Marie-Tooth
disease. These neuropathies result from flaws in genes responsible for
manufacturing neurons or the myelin sheath. Hallmarks of typical Charcot-Marie-Tooth
disease include extreme weakening and wasting of muscles in the lower legs and
feet, gait abnormalities, loss of tendon reflexes, and numbness in the lower
limbs.
The sad fact is that after a
while this misfiring of the nerves can get so bad that people are unable to walk
or pick things up and can get to a point where they would rather have a limb
amputated then continue with this nerve pa
Kidney Disease
- can lead to abnormally high amounts of toxic substances in the blood that can
severely damage nerve tissue. A majority of patients who require dialysis
because of kidney failure develop polyneuropathy. Some liver diseases also lead
to neuropathies as a result of chemical imbalances.
Leprosy - In
all patients with leprosy, the nerve tissue is involved. The dermal nerves are
infected in all skin lesions.
Liver failure – liver disease may be associated with sensory-motor
demyelinating polyneuropathy
Lupus, See Connective
Tissue Diseases
Lyme Disease -
See Bacterial Infection
Many Medications
(such as Lyrica, Cymbalta, Duloxetine hydrochloride, Pregabalin, and more have
neuropathy as a side effect, if may be listed under parenthesis, or tingling and
numbness. You can check www.drugs.com
or www.rxlist.com to check on a
medication.
Metabolic Disorders - caused
by a disruption of the chemical processes in the body. In some cases, nerve
damage is caused by the inability to properly use energy in the body. In other
cases, dangerous substances (toxins) build up in the body and damage
nerves. Some metabolic disorders are pass down through families (inherited),
while others are develop due to various diseases.
Multiple Sclerosis - During periods of multiple sclerosis activity, white blood cells are drawn to regions of the white matter. These initiate and take part in what is known as the inflammatory response. The resulting inflammation is similar to what happens in your skin when you get a pimple. During the inflammation, the myelin gets stripped from the axons in a process known as demyelination.
Nutritional Deficiencies –
see vitamin deficiencies
Pressure on a nerve – compression
neuropathy
Radiation Treatment -
effects may be delayed for many years, the radiation can injury the nerves.
Radiculopathy is
a condition due to a compressed nerve in the spine that can cause pain.
See compression neuropathy
Repetitive stress
- frequently leads to entrapment neuropathies, a special category of compression
injury.
Cumulative damage can result from repetitive, forceful, awkward activities that
require flexing of any group of joints for prolonged periods. The resulting
irritation may cause ligaments, tendons, and muscles to become inflamed and
swollen, constricting the narrow passageways through which some nerves pass.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
- See Connective Tissue Disease
Sarcoidosis -
See Connective tissue diseases
Shingles - See
Infections Disease
Statin Drugs -
designed to block cholesterol, the cells need cholesterol to build the myelin
sheath, this can cause the nerve damage.
Swollen blood vessels
– see compression neuropathy
Surgeries that
damage a nerve
Systemic Diseases
- disorders that affect the entire body —often cause peripheral neuropathy.
These disorders may include: Metabolic and endocrine disorders. Nerve tissues
are highly vulnerable to damage from diseases that impair the body's ability to
transform nutrients into energy, process waste products, or manufacture the
substances that make up living tissue. Diabetes mellitus, characterized by
chronically high blood glucose levels, is a leading cause of peripheral
neuropathy in the United States. About 60 percent to 70 percent of people with
diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage.
Toxins - can
cause peripheral nerve damage. People who are exposed to heavy metals (arsenic,
lead, mercury, thallium), industrial drugs, or environmental toxins frequently
develop neuropathy.
Trauma -
Physical Injuries - is the most common cause of injury to a nerve. Injury or
sudden trauma, such as from automobile accidents, falls, and sports-related
activities, can cause nerves to be partially or completely severed, crushed,
compressed, or stretched, sometimes so forcefully that they are partially or
completely detached from the spinal cord. Broken or dislocated bones can exert
damaging pressure on neighboring nerves, and slipped disks between vertebrae can
compress nerve fibers where they emerge from the spinal cord.
Tumors causing
pressure on a nerve - Cancers and benign tumors can infiltrate or exert damaging
pressure on nerve fibers. Tumors also can arise directly from nerve tissue
cells. See compression neuropathy.
Vascular damage and
blood diseases can decrease oxygen supply to the peripheral nerves and
quickly lead to serious damage to or death of nerve tissues, much as a sudden
lack of oxygen to the brain can cause a stroke. Diabetes frequently leads to
blood vessel constriction. Various forms of vasculitis (blood vessel
inflammation) frequently cause vessel walls to harden, thicken, and develop scar
tissue, decreasing their diameter and impeding blood flow. This category of
nerve damage, in which isolated nerves in different areas are damaged, is called
mononeuropathy multiplex or multifocal mononeuropathy.
Viral Infection -
See Infections above.
Viral and bacterial infections can also cause indirect nerve damage by provoking
conditions referred to as autoimmune disorders, in which specialized cells and
antibodies of the immune system attack the body's own tissues. These attacks
typically cause destruction of the nerve's myelin sheath or axon (the long fiber
that extends out from the main nerve cell body).
Vitamin deficiencies
(e.g., pernicious anemia, etc.) can cause widespread damage to nerve tissue.
Vitamins E, B1, B6, B12, and niacin are essential to healthy nerve function. See
also alcohoic neuropathy. A lack of B12 damages the myelin sheath that
surrounds and protect nerves. Without this protection, nerves cease to function
properly and conditions such as peripheral neuropathy occur. Even B12 deficiency
that is relatively mild may affect the nervous system and the proper functioning
of the brain. The nerve damage caused by a lack of B12 may become permanently
debilitating, if the underlying condition is not treated.
Neuropathy, A Diabetic Side
Effect: How to Decrease or Eliminate This Problem
One
diabetic side effect is neuropathy. This is a condition where the nerves of the
body are damaged. There is something that can be done about it.
One diabetic side effect is
neuropathy. This is a condition where the nerves of the body are damaged. It is
called “Diabetic Peripheral (referring to the outer part of the body)
Neuropathy”. This type of neuropathy affects the feet and legs, hands and
arms, and it can occur on both sides of the body. In fact, 40 percent of type 2
diabetics experience Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.
Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy
shows up as one or more of the following symptoms:|
* Tingling and numbness in the
toes, fingers, or legs.
* Feeling cold, pain or burning feet, hands or legs.
* Extreme sensitivity to touch, even a light touch.
* Sharp pains or cramps.
* Loss of balance and coordination.
These symptoms are often worse at
night.
Causes of nerve damage
Higher than normal sugar levels in
the body cause the outer sheathing (protective covering) of nerve cells to
degenerate. This is similar to an electrical wire that is covered with
insulation, and the insulation is beginning to crumble. Without insulation the
unprotected wire will start short-circuiting.
In the same way, when the
sheathing of nerve cells degenerate, the signals being transmitted are
scrambled, resulting in your body receiving signals that are interpreted as
numbness, heat, cold, tingling, pain, etc.
What can be done about it?
It has been known for some time that increased levels of Tiamine (vitamin B1) in
the blood stream are very effective in reducing and reversing diabetic
neuropathy. Unfortunately, the oral intake of vitamin B1 does not greatly
increase the levels of B1 in the blood stream. Previously, the way that blood
stream levels of B1 were increased was through periodic intravenous feeding or
through injections every few weeks.
The reason that methods like this had to be used is that Tiamine (sometimes
spelled Thiamine), like all of the B vitamins, is water-soluble. It cannot be
stored in the body and flushes out within 4 to 5 hours. Oral intake of Tiamine
over 5 mg results in greatly reduced bioavailability and immediate flushing from
the body (this is why urine frequently turns yellow when taking larger doses of
B vitamins).
Now, a new type of vitamin B1 has
been produced, called Benfotiamine. It is a fat-soluble version of vitamin B1.
What this means is that this new form of vitamin B1 can be taken orally in large
dosages and it will not flush out of the body the way ordinary Tiamine (vitamin
B1) does.
The result is that the blood
stream levels of vitamin B1 can now be greatly increased, enabling a rapid and
effective decrease or elimination of the symptoms of Diabetic Peripheral
Neuropathy.
Many of our diabetics now using Benfotiamine report a lessening of their neuropathy symptoms within 4 to 7 days, and Benfotiamine has been shown to be non-toxic and without any side effects even in very high dosages.
You
can start using Benfotiamine and decrease or eliminate these problems!
Top 12 Foods for Healthy Immune Response
Parasites in the Gut actually protect you from Allergies
http://www.naturalnews.com/028141_parasites_allergies.html
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