Eating right may help protect your nerves from diabetic neuropathy.
By Rebecca Buffum Taylor
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Brunilda zeri, MD
If you have diabetes, you already know the drill. What you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat can send your blood sugar skyrocketing -- or make it plummet. For better or worse, "diet and diabetes" go together like salt and pepper.
So if you need a little motivation to eat better - and who doesn't? - consider this: with diabetes, you're at high risk of the nerve pain and damage called diabetic neuropathy. What can start as a little tingling or numbness in your feet can turn into major problems with walking, working, and leading an active lifestyle. Diabetic neuropathy can also wreak havoc with your digestion, your sexual response, and make it hard to feel normal body sensations - like the signs of plummeting blood sugar or a heart attack.
Fortunately, a balanced diet that helps treat nerve pain is really no different than the standard diet advised by the American Diabetes Association, says Dace L. Trence, MD, an endocrinologist and director of the Diabetes Care Center at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. "The emphasis is really on blood sugar control," she says. "Certainly, if a dietary change might facilitate that, of course, it would be advisable."
Good glucose control can protect the health of your nerves - and may even help prevent diabetic neuropathy, says the National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC). You see your doctor only every once in a while, but you eat several times every day. No matter what medications you may be on, your diabetes diet has a constant - and colossal - impact on your health and well-being, with every bite you take.
Why? Remember the good-old food pyramid you learned about back in school? A balanced diet includes a variety of foods: carbohydrates (starches), fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy, meat, poultry, fish, and healthy fats. Eating a balanced diet helps you keep your glucose within target levels, control your weight, and reduce the risk of complications like neuropathy, heart disease, and stroke.
The goal. Step out of any food ruts you're in. Try new foods, and include all of the major food groups in your diabetes diet.
How? The shape of your diet will depend on how active you are, whether you're a man or a woman, and whether you're trying to lose weight. The American Diabetes Association offers these general guidelines, but check with your doctor to fine-tune your specific plan:
Eating right may help protect your nerves from diabetic neuropathy.
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Why? Skipping meals and overeating can send your blood sugar plunging - and then through the roof. Since diabetic nerve damage and pain can decrease appetite and make it harder to digest food, several smaller meals may work better for you. Plus, some diabetes medications work their best when you're taking them in concert with regularly scheduled meals.
The goal. Find a workable schedule for meals and snacks that fits your real lifestyle - not one you wish you had. Be realistic about planning your diabetes diet around your work, driving time, feeding kids, and other commitments.
How? Aim for 3 small meals and 3 healthy snacks each day to balance out your blood sugar:
Why? Carbohydrates digest more slowly and don't "spike" your blood sugar the way sugars do. They also fill you up faster, so you're less likely to overeat, and they give you more vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
How?
Why? Most people are shocked to realize how small "official" serving sizes are. A serving of carbs? Only 1 slice of whole-grain bread or 1/2 cup of cooked oatmeal. A serving of dry cereal? Only 3/4 of a cup - that's smaller than your average cup of coffee. Meat, fish, or poultry? A mere 3 ounces is a serving - that's about the size of a cassette tape - once it's cooked. Go for that 16-ounce porterhouse and you've just eaten nearly 6 dinners-worth of protein.
The goal. Get in the habit of reading food labels to find out the real portion sizes for the foods you enjoy. And do the math. If you double up on a special treat one day, subtract that from your next day's diet planning.
How?
Why? Alcohol is toxic to nerves, says the ADA. Your liver has two main jobs: to clear toxins like alcohol from your body, and to convert carbohydrate into blood glucose your body can use. But drinking sidetracks your liver; it won't start working to level out blood sugar until it "sweeps" the alcohol from your bloodstream, so blood sugar swings can result. And if you have diabetic neuropathy, drinking may spur on pain, tingling, and other symptoms, says the ADA.
The goal. To be safe, the ADA advises people with advanced diabetic neuropathy not to drink at all, since it's possible that nerve damage can be brought on even by light drinking (fewer than 2 drinks a week). If you do drink, they advise no more than 1 drink a day for women and 2 drinks a day for men.
How?
Why? Nearly 9 out of 10 adults with type 2 diabetes are overweight, says the ADA. Losing weight can lower blood glucose, give you more energy, lighten the load on feet already sore from nerve pain, and lower your risk of heart disease and stroke.
The goal? Try to stick to 3 - 5 servings of fat a day (or as advised by your doctor). Remember that 1 serving of fat is only 1 teaspoon of olive oil or margarine.
How?
And remember to relax and enjoy your meals. That way, you're less likely to overeat from stress, and more likely to savor the flavor of foods. Your nerves will be glad you did.