Salsa is the food list topic but first a few words about neuropathies
A neuropathy is the medical term to describe nerve damage, a not uncommon side effect of diseases such as diabetes, the common problem to which this diabetic food list website is addressed.
Anyone who has not experienced a diabetic neuropathy of the feet would not realize how painful it can be, often striking during the night, preventing a person from getting to sleep, awakening them from sleep or preventing them from getting back to sleep. There is also the sharp stabbing pain, usually of shorter duration but recurring, that is aptly named “burning toe syndrome”.
Peripheral and autonomic neuropathies
The type of neuropathy described above, that affects the extremities, the feet, hands, or legs, is called a peripheral neuropathy. But nerve damage is not limited to the extremities, they can also affect almost every part of the nervous system and many organs of the body can become impaired as a result. The term autonomic neuropathy is used to refer to the several symptoms that occur when there is damage to many nerves that manage organs that control the body, including blood pressure, heart rate, the emptying of the bowel and bladder and the digestion process among others.
Especially common in diabetes
Neuropathies are common in people who suffer from diabetes, a serious metabolic disorder which results from the existence of higher than normal blood sugar levels that circulate throughout the body.
And in diabetics, neuropathies are more common in those who have had difficulty controlling their blood sugar levels for a long time. A comprehensive explanation of neuropathy can be found at the National Institute of Health’s Diabetes Clearinghouse.
Pain relief
There is not a lot that can be done to alleviate the pains of neuropathy. There are pain killing medications that might help but it’s the high levels of blood sugar that does the damage and a first line of defence might best be to achieve improved blood sugar control, not always easy for some, I realize.
Liniments and ointments that provide heat to the affected areas might provide relief for some people. Capsaicin ointment is one of those that might be a remedy and is available in the first aid section of most pharmacies, together with other similar pain relief products.
Some doctors treat the pain of neuropathy with Vitamin B-12 injections and B-12, in the form of sublingual tablets, has been recommended by my own doctor at a dosage of 1000 Mcg once per day. It is inexpensive, a 3-month supply costs less than $10, available without prescription at health food stores and some drug stores. Note: B-12 tablets are available in 2 forms, cyanocobalamin or methylcobalamin, I have been advised that methylcobalamin is the better form because it is better absorbed by the body. Other B vitamins have also been suggested as possible neuropathy-specific remedies. For me, the 1000 Mcg tablets did help for about a year or so but either its effectiveness is diminishing with time or my neuropathy is getting worse and I need to seek an alternative, which brings me to the title reference of Salsa.
Salsa
Salsa, is a new and, for me, an unusual addition to my diabetic food list. My discovery of Salsa as an aid in dealing with foot pain came from the book The Diabetic Male’s Essential Guide to Living Well, by Joseph Juliano, M.D., who is a type 1 diabetic. The book was published in 1998 by Henry Holt Books, and is still available from some sources, and is a favored reference for all things diabetic for me.
Dr. Joseph Juliano on Salsa
After commenting on capsaicin, mentioned above and an extract of hot peppers that gives them their fiery taste, Dr. Juliano points out that the peppers are used to make Tabasco sauces and salsas. Since he now eats a lot of salsa, he has found that it has reduced his neuropathyy to zero and he has suffered no pain for many years. How much he eats is not mentioned other than to say that it is always part of his lunch. For me, that is enough to prompt me to incorporate salsa into my diabetic diet and I have just started to do so.
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