It is about time! On
June 16, 2015 the FDA ruled to ban all trans fats, period. They are to be phased in over a 3 year
period. At the present time only about 15%
of industrial strength food preparers and processors still use trans fats or
partially hydrogenated products. Those
remaining are large multinational food processors like Hostess brands which
makes several baked goods including Twinkies, and then there are other big
processors of donuts, breads, bagels, and snacks like potato chips and
crackers.
The fact is that June 16, 2015 was a monumental day for all
Americans as trans fats, AKA hydrogenated fats, are first and foremost rampant
killers still on the loose. Study after study has shown that trans fats are a
significant cause of heart disease. Of
course some companies and lobbyists would dispute that even to this day.
So how does this tie in to people with peripheral
neuropathy? Well first let me provide
you some valuable information about peripheral neuropathy, a condition that
most people have never heard of let, alone be able to pronounce. This is a condition in which nerves are
damaged in the far reaches of the body, that being the feet and hands, then it
may spread over time, usually taking years, up the legs and arms and even into
your torso. In some cases it can be
quite debilitating, at its worst to the degree that it impairs walking, driving
and other normal daily functions.
Although peripheral neuropathy has over a dozen causes, the
leading cause of peripheral neuropathy is high glucose (blood sugar) levels.
High glucose causes damage to the blood vessels which feed essential oxygen and
nutrients to nerve cells. As nerve cells no longer receive the nutrients and
oxygen from proper blood flow which they require to thrive and survive, the nerve cells slowly die off. Usually the cell death occurs in staggered
patches, and not all at once as one would think, from the restricted blood
flow. This causes a disrupted nerve
sensation of numbness, burning and tingling all simultaneously in the feet
and/or hands. The problem is this
sensation does not go away, you live with it 24/7 and it usually progresses
over the years starting from your toes through the ball of your foot to your
heel, then consuming your entire foot (feet). It does not stop there because
more often than not, it appears in your hands and then also progresses up your
legs from your feet over many years.
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| Peripheral Neuropathy typically starts in the feet |
The amazing thing is that 42 million Americans suffer in silence with peripheral neuropathy, and about half of the 42 million have mild enough
symptoms that they don’t even know what they have and what pain and discomfort
lies ahead of them.
There are two main reasons why blood flow becomes restricted
to the nerves: 1) high glucose levels damage blood vessels and they cause harm
to the tiny capillaries first. These are
the vessels that provide a direct supply of blood to most nerve cells. 2) high cholesterol levels of LDL (bad
cholesterol) exacerbate the damage to the blood vessels by further restricting
blood flow from plaque that builds up in the blood vessels. It is the one-two punch that causes
irreparable nerve damage in most cases.
So the key to the trans fat ban logic as it relates to
peripheral neuropathy is as follows.
Trans fats are known to boost bad cholesterol, LDL, significantly. With trans fats finally banned from all foods,
people will likely measure some degree of reduced cholesterol levels over time
which will abate the blockage of blood vessels and ultimately slow down the
rate at which peripheral neuropathy develops and progresses, particularly in
people that don’t properly watch their diet.
Of course there is much more to the cholesterol story than
trans fats. Consider the damage that
saturated fats cause, but at least the era of the most unnatural form of fat,
trans fat, is finally coming to an end and will ultimately reduce the death and
chronic disease rate to some degree that it is responsible for.
There is so much more to peripheral neuropathy that needs to
be discovered and known, but an excellent source of information including products
and services that can help reduce the pain and discomfort are located at “I Have PeripheralNeuropathy” (http://ihavepn.com/).
