anti-seizure medications to pain relievers
and anti-nausea medicines. But none of
them really get at the core of the problem –
repairing delicate blood vessels and nerve
endings and helping the body repair some
of the pathways that are involved in metab-
olizing blood sugar. Fortunately, along with
lifestyle choices, specific nutrients can stop –
and even reverse – the symptoms and causes
of neuropathy.
For example, patients with high rates
of blood sugar have been found to be defi-
cient in vitamin B6. Those who were given
pyridoxal-5-phosphate (P-5-P), the active
form of vitamin B6, showed reduced blood
glucose levels after only 7 days.
should (leaving more in the bloodstream),
but your chances of oxidative damage and
inflammation in the blood vessels increase.
Benfotiamine is a fat-soluble form
of vitamin B1 (thiamin) that can achieve
five times the concentration in the body
compared to standard water-based thiamin.
Benfotiamine prevents glucose toxicity and
brings elevated blood sugar levels back
down to normal. Benfotiamine has also been
clinically proven to reduce pain and compli-
cations of diabetic neuropathy, the “pins-
and-needles” and “tingling” that people with
diabetes feel in their feet and legs. The active
form of vitamin B12, methylcobalamin, is
another “must-have” for those with diabetic
neuropathy. Vitamin B12 supports the nerve
ACTIVE B VITAMINS: READILY USED BY structures that move signals throughout the
THE BODY
body – some of the very structures that are
Most forms of B vitamins need to be
threatened by inflammation and damage
converted by the liver into a form that is
from elevated blood sugar levels. The sooner
readily used by the body.
you get this nutrient into your regimen, the
However, vitamin B6 as pyridox-
better. According to the Annual Review of
al-5-phosphate (P-5-P), vitamin B12 as
Nutrition, up to 15 percent of individuals
methylcobalamin, and folate as L-methyl-
over 60 are B12 deficient.
folate are already in the form the body uses.
Like vitamin B12, folate can be admin-
Together, they protect nerve endings and
istered in forms that are easier for the body
reduce levels of inflammatory homocysteine to absorb, and L-methylfolate is one of
that damage blood vessels.
them. Research published in the journal
Other B vitamins are important for
Reviews in Neurological Diseases found
blood sugar metabolism and nerve health
that L-methylfolate, methylcobalamin, and
as well. For example, people with diabetes
P-5-P improved the epidermal nerve fiber
are typically deficient in thiamin, or vitamin density (ENFD) in 73 percent of the treated
B1, much like vitamin B6. Thiamin helps the patients with type 2 diabetes in just six
body metabolize carbohydrates effectively to months. Additionally, 82 percent reported
turn those calories into energy. Without it,
reduced frequency and intensity of the “pins
not only do sugars not break down as they
and needles” feeling or of the painful sensa-
www.himpowermagazine.com 35