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

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April 25 • 2019 53
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