Natural Treatment for Leg & Feet Neuropathy, Sciatica and Back Pain.
In this guide to relief from backpain, sciatica and Neuropathy, our expert Nutritionist warns you of the foods to avoid, and nutrients to take, to avoiding the wrong diet which may dial up both pain and nerve symptoms.
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In our specialist Musculoskeletal health clinic, we assist individuals in the UK, Europe and US with a variety of conditions causing pain, disability, and discomfort. Our mission is to spread awareness on important underlying elements of our health.
What is the latest thinking about what causes neuropathy?
Traditional medicine isn’t quite keeping up with the latest research, when it comes to how our lifestyles, diet and genes directly impact health conditions.
Many conditions that affect the nerves are traditionally considered unexplained, such as Multiple Sclerosis, Peripheral Neuropathy disease, and even restless leg syndrome. However, we would argue that this doesn’t imply a lack of cause, but rather our current lack of understanding of the causes.
This is where functional medicine differs in its approach. Instead of focussing on the disease diagnosis itself, we focus in on understanding what’s going on in the body as a whole, because we know this is what helps our nerve cells function like they should.
Conditions That Involves Nerves
Sciatica: nerve pain that is not caused by a problem with the nerve structure of function, but inflammation makes pain worse
Carpal Tunnel syndrome
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Multiple Sclerosis
Diabetic Neuropathy
Tingles in hands and arms. Numbness, Restless leg syndrome
We know that what goes on in the digestion, immune system and what you eat, play a huge part in your health.
By delving deeper into the body's organs and systems, assessing genes, gut microbes, and much deeper blood screens, we can gather information about what makes your body tick, and what doesn’t.
There is so much we can do ourselves to nurture and preserve the health of nerves - and we want to spread this message to everyone! Our practitioners are specialists in this area and welcome you to reach out for our help. We are here to answer any questions, or just to listen to your health story.
How nerves work - the simplified version
Skip this bit if you’re not interested in understanding the ‘how’.
It can be helpful to think of nerves like electrical wires. They need to conduct energy, which requires a layer of insulation around the wires to work, as with an electrical cable. They also require the current that travels within the nerve itself, to transport a message. The message might be to move a muscle, to release some hormones, or make something else happen. These structures are all things we can work on - with nutrition and lifestyle.
To preserve health of our nerves and prevent further degeneration in auto-immune conditions that affects the nerves (MS, Peripheral neuropathy, Motor Neurone Disease), we want to think about all the factors that sends a bit of love nerves’ way.
In functional medicine, we consider how it all fits together - so these are some of the things you may not have discussed with your Medical Professionals.
Get on the right diet to dial down inflammation, pain and degeneration.
‘Bad’ foods for MS, Pain and Inflammation.
Blood sugar
Starting off with the most basic, but fundamental element of good and bad foods for nerve
We cannot emphasise enough the critical importance of maintaining healthy blood sugar levels for the wellbeing of our nerves. Whilst diabetics are acutely aware of this, everyone experiencing nerve-related issues can greatly benefit from paying attention to their blood sugar health. The modern diet poses a significant challenge to our blood sugar stability, making it really important for most of us, to address this issue. Foods that drive up our blood sugar, also drive up inflammation - and inflammation is pain!
To begin addressing this concern, we highly recommend undergoing a blood glucose assessment using a continuous glucose monitor for a duration of two weeks (we can assist you in accessing this service at no cost) to gain a clearer understanding of your blood sugar patterns and you respond to foods.
The right diet for healthy blood sugar
The modern diet, jam packed with ultra-processed foods (bread, pizza, bagels, baguettes, croissants, sugar, and other sweetened foods) is hugely problematic for our ‘primitive’ bodies. These foods are highly addictive, and the more addicted you are - there more your metabolic health will be programmed wrong. Once your metabolism has been programmed incorrectly (and if you think, most of us have eaten these foods our entire lives), the urge to consume these foods will have become so hard-wired into your brain that you’ll have a strong emotional bond with how eating these foods make you feel (as with any addiction). At this point, you’re probably blaming your eating habits on ‘poor self discipline’, or that the food is just too pleasurable - or you ‘just love food too much’ to stop. We would argue that this is completely incorrect, and that your inability to stop eating sugar and processed foods, is more to do with the obesity-promoting, pleasure-inducing and addictive properties of these foods.
If you carry weight around the middle, is progressively putting on weight no matter what you do and are starting to have raised cholesterol or low energy, hormone imbalances or anxiety - you want to get this assessed properly.
Note that your GP may still have reported that your blood sugar is ‘fine’ - as traditional medicine is generally concerned only with diabetes risk.
2. Thyroid health
Do you take Levothyroxine and have neuropathy, carpal tunnel syndrome or other nerve health issues? If so, you might want to give your thyroid hormones some attention. The thyroid is important in maintaining the health of our nerves. As well as getting your medication right, taking thyroid hormone replacement (levothyroxine) may also lower your absorption of the nutrient zinc over time, and unfortunately this nutrient is super important in your body’s ability to use the hormones you take effectively (conversion from T4 to more active form T3). Therefore, even for those taking medication and where blood tests indicate all is well, we still recommend an assessment to make sure you get the best effect from your medication.
You may benefit from taking extra zinc if you are hypothyroid or take levothyroxine at a good dose. Iron is also equally important, especially if you don’t eat red meat.
If you experience any signs of unexplained fatigue, feeling faint on standing, problems with your digestion, we’d recommend seeking advice from a professional.
3. Gut issues, IBS and Acid Reflux
The gut really deserves an extra mention here, as it has a HUGE role to play in a huge variety of conditions that involves nerves. Our guts contain a huge amount of nerves itself, it’s a major seat of neurotransmitter (nerve chemicals!) production, and it’s also an important area for inflammation to be triggered. In addition to that, the following nutritional factors involve digestion and absorption.
IBS, SIBO and other gut issues
If you have IBS or suffer with other gut symptoms, there’s a chance you’re not absorbing B12 well. SIBO is a problem with gut bacteria, and a very common cause of IBS. in SIBO, bacteria can ‘steal’ B12, preventing it from going into your body https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9821204/#:~:text=Cobalamin .
The gut is also the seat of Immune system activation, and SIBO in particular is very strongly association with all conditions that affect pain, inflammation and nerve health.
Heartburn medication - Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI’s/omeprazole etc)
If you take PPI’s, your stomach acid production is artificially reduced (which is how the medication works). The reduction can be significant, causing problems with getting your B12 from the food you eat. So you may eat a lot of meat but still not absorb it. If you’ve taken PPI’s for a long time you also have a higher risk of SIBO.
NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES - NOT ABSORBING WELL, OR EATING PLANT BASED.
B12
B12 is incredibly important in all types of neuropathies, and should be assessed or considered for all.
Many dietary factors can cause a problem with absorbing B12. We need enough stomach acid to absorb it. If you have heartburn, experience burping or belching or feel like ‘food sits in stomach’ after eating, your stomach acid may require a bit of attention and you might want to test your B12. Whilst a blood test is not as accurate as a urine test - a blood test will be a good start, and is easy to get hold of here.
Veganism and ‘Plant Based’
if you have nerve problems but is also a vegan or plant based, we advise you to test that your B12 supplementation is sufficient. Don't’ just test in the first 6 months or a year, test levels also in year 2 and beyond. This is because your body can store some B12 so it can take time before depletion sets in. Many people feel great for the first 6months of veganism (if increasing healthy vegetables and nuts), but can sometimes then begin to experience a decline. If you experience fatigue or tingles in hands or feet - we would advise ruling out B12 deficiency. Ensure your levels are optimal, not just within the reference range.
We can help with this and would be happy to review your blood tests for you if you send it via the contact form below.
Calcium & Magnesium
These nutrients are super important in nerve conditions. They prevent nerve cells from dying and are used by nerves that instruct and make our muscles move. Magnesium is also involved in the formation of the myelin sheath, so MS patients need to ensure their magnesium levels are optimal. To test, you need the red blood cell blood test, which is slightly more expensive than a normal blood test for magnesium and is necessary to identify low levels accurately.
Calcium, you may be surprised to learn, isn’t just a mineral for our bones—it's actually the key mineral that makes our nerve conduction work! Because it’s so important, the body will draw calcium from the bones to serve the nerves. Therefore, the body maintains a tight balance of calcium in the blood, using bones as a storage facility to tap into as needed (this is a simplification for the purposes of this article).
NOTE: IF YOU HAVE SIBO OR LOW STOMACH ACID, YOUR ABSORPTION OF BOTH CALCIUM AND MAGNESIUM MAY BE INHIBITED, so you may require higher doses.
Should you simply consume more dairy?
We would first advise testing for lactose intolerance, or carrying out an elimination trial. Many people with pain or nerve issues feel worse when consuming dairy. Whilst elimination diets are relatively straight forward, there are a lot of other factors at play as to whether it will work as intended, so we generally recommend seeking professional advice. Note that if you eliminate dairy, you must consider calcium levels, perhaps by supplementing or testing your blood levels.
4. Nerve Molecules - Neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters serve as our 'nerve molecules', collectively regulating our bodily functions and even our emotions. For instance, dopamine can boost confidence and positivity, while adrenaline and noradrenaline evoke excitement. Serotonin is renowned for reducing sadness, and GABA acts as our natural anti-anxiety molecule. In addition to these, numerous other neurotransmitters assist in daily functions such as regulating appetite, sleep, temperature, muscle contraction, and the cardiovascular and endocrine systems. Motor neurons release acetylcholine, enabling muscle movement. Interestingly, histamine, typically associated with allergies, also plays a crucial role in regulating sleep-wake cycles according to research.
Because of how critical they are to our nerves working - we get our clients to carry out a simple home-test to assess neurotransmitters levels
There are many additional factors impacting the state of our nerves, so be sure to sign up below so that we can continue to tell you about newly discovered, and well established causes of a range of nerve conditions.
What to do next:
Addressing neuropathy in the legs and feet through natural approaches offers a promising path to relief and improved well-being. From understanding the triggers of neuropathy to embracing lifestyle changes, optimising nutrition, and considering the role of neurotransmitters, this article has provided valuable insights into holistic strategies for nerve health. By adopting these approaches and working closely with healthcare professionals, individuals can embark on a journey towards reversing neuropathic pain and discomfort naturally. Let's embrace the power of holistic healing to nurture our nerves and enhance our overall quality of life.