Damage to your nerves may result in pain, numbness and muscle weakness, a condition known as neuropathy. Inability to sense heat, cold and other painful stimuli increases your risk for injury. If you have a wound in a location you cannot see, you may not know you have an injury, and an untreated wound could result in a serious infection. Your doctor may recommend neuropathy medications, but you may want to discuss supplements such as turmeric that show promise for neuropathy sufferers.
Causes
Neuropathy may stem from various health conditions. These causes may include infections such as shingles, autoimmune conditions, nerve trauma from injury or vitamin deficiencies. Also, diabetics have an increased risk for neuropathy, but blood sugar control may help prevent neuropathy and other complications.
Turmeric
A member of the ginger family, turmeric works well as a seasoning for many recipes, but turmeric may have a number of health benefits as well. Turmeric contains curcumin, an antioxidant compound that may help reduce inflammation and aid in the treatment of digestion conditions. Turmeric may help reduce blood sugar levels. In a 2002 study, researchers at Annamalai University in India evaluated the effects of turmeric and the component curcumin on diabetic rats. They found that curcumin reduced blood sugar levels. Turmeric supplements, though they contain curcumin, did not have as significant effect as doses of curcumin alone.
Neuropathy Relevance
The study at Annamalai University used rats to evaluate the effects of turmeric and curcumin on blood sugar control. As of 2011, no study has evaluated the role of turmeric on human blood sugar levels. However, the rat-based information does show some promise in the possible help turmeric could provide diabetic patients. In controlling blood sugar levels, a diabetic has a decreased likelihood of having diabetes-related neuropathy.
In 2009, researchers in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of California-Davis Medical Center evaluated the role of curcumin, such as that found in turmeric, in relieving pain from diabetic neuropathy. The study used mice for test subjects and found the curcumin use resulted in a higher pain tolerance in the mice. At the conclusion of the study, researchers determined that curcumin may have some benefit in aiding neuropathy sufferers.
Considerations
Human studies have not concluded that turmeric will help neuropathy patients. However, these initial discoveries show promise, and you may want to talk with your doctor about whether turmeric supplements could offer some benefits to your condition. You should not begin using these supplements without first consulting your doctor, since turmeric use could interfere with medications or health conditions.
References
- MayoClinic.com; Peripheral Neuropathy; November 2009
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Turmeric
- "Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences"; An Overview of Curcumin in Neurological Disorders; S. K. Kulkarni and A. Dhir; March 2010
- "Plant Foods for Human Nutrition"; Efficacy of Turmeric on Blood Sugar and Polyol Pathway in Diabetic Albino Rats; N. Arun and N. Nalini; 2002
