2. Lower your blood glucose levels.
Keeping your blood sugar levels in check is absolutely critical when it comes to treating DPN because it lowers the patient’s risk of developing complications, including urinary tract infections and amputation.
“Keeping your blood sugar controlled is essential to managing DPN,” says Dr. Mark Carter, who practices internal medicine in Phoenix, Arizona. “When your blood sugar is controlled, the blood flow can improve with time if it’s still early in the disease.”
3. Change your lifestyle.
That means eating healthier and incorporating more raw foods into your everyday diet, exercising regularly if you don’t already and not smoking.
“Appropriate diet and exercise helps in several ways. Both of which will have a direct impact in controlling you blood sugar,” Dr. Carter says. “You also get the added benefit of better blood flow. Exercise has been shown to improve blood flow and help regulate the hormones involved in regulating your blood sugar i.e. insulin and cortisol. Exercise can help control the low-grade inflammation you get in the nerve cells when your blood sugar is not controlled as well.”
Dr. Carter also stresses the importance of having a strong support system around you at all times. “If everyone else in your home is eating a high-carbohydrate diet and you are not the primary meal preparer, it’s going to be difficult to have good glucose control,” he says. “People who hold you accountable will help you succeed.”