What Causes Diabetic Neuropathy?
When people with diabetes experience pain, tingling, numbness or other sensory symptoms, typically in the feet, high blood sugar seems to be the real culprit. In general, nerve cells only start dying when blood sugar stays too high over a long period of time. Nobody knows why extra sugar is so toxic. Perhaps it upsets the chemical balance in the nerves. Or perhaps the sugar slows down blood circulation and cuts off the oxygen supply to the nervous system. Experts speculate that the small blood vessels of the nerves may be damaged, and that proteins within the nervous system may become coated with sugar and not function properly. The good news is that keeping your blood glucose (sugar) under control will help protect you against neuropathy. In addition, many other risk factors are under your control, including high cholesterol level and blood pressure, smoking, and heavy alcohol use — all of which increase the likelihood of diabetes-related nerve damage. To protect yourself, don’t smok
