Dietary Supplements and Herbs - Updated February, 2006
As we age we do not digest and absorb nutrients as efficiently as when we were younger. Injury and disease vastly increase our nutritional requirements. Hence the need to supplement our diet with concentrated nutrients.
These supplements have been shown to help nerve function and healing. Much of the research has been done with diabetics and with rats. Generally, what helps diabetic neuropathy helps nerve function in general, and what helps rat nerves helps human nerves. A trend in research results seems to be that what helps depression and memory also helps neuropathy. Beside double blind studies, all of the suggested supplements are supported by clinical experience.
For price, freshness, and quality, I buy most of the supplements below on the internet.
Take supplements at the start of meals to protect the esophagus, except where the bottle recommends taking without food.
Name
Dose Per
Rationale / Comments
------------------
Vit B12
1,000 - 6,000 mcg day
Boosts nerve function. Is required for and dramatically speeds nerve healing. Compensates for possible deficiency. Use sublingual methylcobalamin if available, or 1,000 mcg of cyanocobalamin if not. Take IN ADDITION TO the B-complex. Up to 36,000 mcg/day injected are prescribed in Japan for PN.
------------------
B-complex
B-50 1/day
Needed for energy, nerve function, nerve healing. A B-50 formulation is about twice as strong as a regular B-complex. Two B-50s or one B-100 is at the upper safety limit. Take with breakfast so it help your body utilize your food all day.
------------------
Folate or folic acid
Up to 1200 mcg. 1/day
An important component in nerve function, shown to be deficient in many cases of neuropathy. Helps fight depression and bipolar disorder. Check the folate level in your B-50, and supplement with enough to bring your folate intake to 800 - 1200 mcg/day. Men with neuropathy need more than women. If it doesn’t help within about six weeks, the amount in your B-50 should be sufficient.
------------------
Vit C
250 mg./day. The latest research is that this is all we can use. Not needed if you eat a good diet since almost all fruit and veggies have vitamin C. Antioxidant, heals nerves.
------------------
Vit E mixed tocopherals.
400 iu /day
Antioxidant, heals nerves. More than 400 iu of cheap sythesized l-alpha-tecopheral can cause heart problems. Formulations with plenty of gamma-tocopherals and are heart and nerve healthy. Is a blood thinner. Ask your doctor if you take prescription blood thinners.
------------------
Acetyl-L-Carnatine
500 mg. 2/day
Heals nerves, reduces pain, improves memory, elevates mood and increases energy. Works with Alpha lipoic acid. 3,000 mg./day heals nerves and reduces pain over a year's use in several studies. That would be very costly, but worthwhile if you can afford it.
------------------
Alpha Lipoic Acid
800 mg. day
Antioxident. 800 mg./day is prescribed in Europe for PN. Help all tissue repair and nerve function. The only antioxidant that gets into neurons because it is both fat and water soluble. Works with the Acetyl-L-Carnatine
------------------
SAMe
400 - 1200 mg 1/day on an empty stomach
Methyl donor. Potent antioxidant. Help vitamins and enzyme systems work. Fights depression, aids sleep, anti-arthritic. Helps liver detoxification. Ask your doctor if you have bipolar disorder because it can increase manic phase symptoms. Expensive, so start with 1200 mg/day, then taper to 400 or 800 mg. after two weeks.
------------------
Calcium/Magnesium
500 mg. Magnesium 2/day
Nerve and muscle function, bone strength. Magnesium helps stop twitches, cramps, and fascilations, reduces pain, lowers blood pressure, and prevents heart disease. Take a formulation of easily absorbed acid salts or chelates. Potassium, calcium, and magnesium are all required for muscle and nerve function. Potassium is in most fruit and vegetables. Too much Ca/Mg can cause kidney stones. The proper ration is two parts of elemental calcium to one of magnesium. A caution: magnesium citrate is a potent laxative. If you start supplementing with magnesium and get the runs, try another formulation or cut down the amount.
------------------
Fish Oil
1000 mg 2-3/day
Antioxidant. Promote joint health, circulatory system health. Anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic. Omega 3 fatty acids. Specific for neuropathy. Lower blood pressure. Moisturizes skin and makes hair shiny. Is a blood thinner. Ask your doctor if you take prescription blood thinners.
------------------
Flax seed
2 tbsp. day
Omega 3 fatty acids. Helps your digestion, blood circulation, general nerve and muscle function. Flax seed has lignins which provides cancer protection.
------------------
Milk thistle
200 mg-70% 3/day
Stimulate and promote liver detoxification. Use only if needed: if the liver is sore or if you were exposed to toxins or drugs.
------------------
PB-8 or other probiotic formula.
1 or 2/day
Probiotics-ensure good amount and healthy balance of intestinal bacteria. Healthy intestinal bacteria produce many nerve essential compounds. Live culture yogurt is a probiotic that has the same beneficial effect, if you can handle the small amount of milk sugar in it.
------------------
Coenzyme Q-10
50 mg, 2/day. Necessary for muscle and nerve function. Compensate for depletion caused by some drugs such as statins.
------------------
DHEA
50 mg. in morning on empty stomach
Promotes healing, energy, libido. Most people over 50 need to supplement with DHEA. Recommended by Life Extension Foundation for peripheral neuropathy.
Exercise and massage
Exercise is critical. Without exercise you will not heal and your health and nerves will deteriorate. Exercise stimulates the heart, lubricates the joints, breaks adhesions in the tissues, stimulates the growth of capillaries, stimulates the nervous system, stimulates the glands, and promotes healing. Medical science has determined that movement heals, even immediately post operative. Do what you enjoy and do what you can every day. If your balance is bad, walk if you can. Your balance will get better.
Decide that you are not going to be decrepit anymore, and do something about it.
Exercise should be pain free except for neuropathic pain which sends false signals that can be ignored.
Massage offers many of the benefits of exercise. It improves circulation, stimulates and helps heal the nerves and muscles, and helps maintain an optimal hormonal balance. Electrical stimulation is a type of massage that has show powerful pain relieving and healing effects clinically and in the laboratory with animals. I’ve had great results with “The Rebuilder” (
www.rebuildermedical.com ), but many of the lab studies were done with TENS (transdermal electrical nerve stimulation) units (
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...hy&btnG=Search ). Whirlpools with cool water are soothing, as are gentle self massage with gentle cooling crèmes. I make my own using ¾ Blu Emu crème and ¼ Ben Gay.
Stretching is also important to open the joints and prevent the onset or progression of osteoarthritis. I did yoga for years and recommend it with the right teacher. I’m now doing the program in “3 Minutes to a Pain Free Life”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/074...lance&n=283155 ) plus some daily yoga for a 20 minute morning stretch routine. Stretching does not take the place of exercise, but it is equally critical as we age and deal with chronic pain.