Neuropathy Study
U-M research shows promise
in unsaturated dietary fats.
P
eople who are diabetic, pre-
diabetic or obese are at high
risk of developing diabetic
neuropathy, which is chronic nerve
damage that often affects the feet
and hands.
Researchers at Michigan Medicine
may have identified a new way to
reverse this common, painful and
debilitating condition through sim-
ple changes in diet. Their study was
published recently in The Journal of
Neuroscience.
The findings suggest that changing
the types of fat a person eats could
reverse the neuropathic damage.
“We were not anticipating such
a dramatic effect of diet on nerve
function, but our new
studies certainly sup-
port the old adage that
you are what you eat,”
says Eva L. Feldman
M.D., Ph.D., a pro-
fessor of neurology
and the director of
Michigan Medicine’
s
Program for Neurology Research
and Discovery.
In 2016, Feldman and her
team reported the presence of
neuropathy is high in three groups:
people with obesity alone, people
with prediabetes and people with
diabetes.
Diabetes affects 30 million
Americans, and type 2 diabetes, in
particular, is an epidemic in this
country. An additional 84 million
Americans have prediabetes. Even
more alarming, about 100 million
Americans are obese, which is
more than 30 percent of the popu-
lation. One common factor among
these groups is a diet rich in fats,
Feldman says.
“Our research suggests that select-
ing foods high in unsaturated fats
is a healthier option than food high
in saturated fats,” she says. “While
we have known this is true for heart
health, we now believe this is also
true for a healthy nervous system.”
In the U-M study, obese, predi-
abetic mice were fed a diet high in
saturated fatty acids. Later, some
animals were switched to a diet high
in unsaturated fatty acids. While the
calorie counts and weights of the ani-
mals remained the same, the animals
with a diet of unsaturated fatty acids
had a reversal of neuropathy and
improved overall health.
The American Diabetes
Association website features
information about food choices. It
further explains the negative effects
of food containing unhealthy fats,
such as red meats and dairy products
with high cream content. Replacing
those items with foods that contain
unsaturated fats, such as fish, peanut
butter, avocados, olives, almonds,
plant-based oils and seeds, can be
beneficial.
Nearly 1 in 4 adults living with
diabetes, or 7.2 million Americans, is
unaware he has the disease.
“Over the last 10 years in my clin-
ic, I’
ve witnessed a dramatic increase
in the number of patients with predi-
abetes and diabetes and very painful
neuropathy,” Feldman says. “Our
new research shows that addressing
dietary fats is likely essential for an
improved lifestyle, and improved life-
style is our first line of treatment for
neuropathy.” ■
MATT TREVOR SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
Dr. Eva
Feldman
health
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April 25 • 2019 53
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