Natural Therapy for Diabetic Neuropathy

We've known for years that the burning, tingling pain of diabetic neuropathy can be effectively prevented and addressed with natural therapies — and a big, four-year study shows that the antioxidant alpha lipoic acid is uniquely effective.

Researchers from the University of Dusseldorf in Germany studied 460 diabetic patients with mild to moderate neuropathy, dividing them into two groups. One took 600 mg of alpha lipoic acid daily. The other took a placebo. The people with diabetes who took alpha lipoic acid had less pain and slower progression of the disease. Alpha lipoic acid "resulted in a clinical meaningful improvement and prevention of progression of neuropathic impairments and was well tolerated," concluded the researchers in Diabetes Care.

Other nutrients that can help with diabetic neuropathy include 100 mg of B6 (higher dose can cause side effects), 500 mcg of B12, 200 mg of magnesium, and 500 mg of inositol — all of which are found in a good multivitamin powder.

These therapies can also help in fibromyalgia, as over 1/3 of fibromyalgia patients have nerve pain along with the muscle pain and central sensitization.

References

"Efficacy and Safety of Antioxidant Treatment With {alpha}-Lipoic Acid Over 4 Years in Diabetic Polyneuropathy: The NATHAN 1 trial." PubMed.gov. July 20, 2011