Natural Agents to Improve Diabetic Retinopathy and Neuropathy

As you know, diabetes is associated with several secondary diseases and complications, including blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, and ulceration and amputation of the legs. I would like to take a few moments to discuss two in particular: diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy.

Retinopathy is characterized by increasing damage to the retina of the eyes that leads to loss of visual acuity, and has become the leading cause of blindness in the United States. Diabetic neuropathy refers to inflammation and deterioration of the peripheral nerves that causes numbness, tingling, and severe pain. It is the leading cause of amputation of the lower extremities.

Despite what conventional medicine may tell you, there are things you can do to improve both of these conditions. If you have diabetes-related retinopathy or neuropathy in any stage, I recommend that you add the following two supplements to your diabetes treatment program.

Nutritional supplements of gamma linolenic acid have been shown to effectively slow down, stop, and even reverse the progression of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Gamma linolenic acid comes from the essential fat, linoleic acid, commonly found in seed oils such as corn oil and sesame oil. Diabetics lack the enzyme systems necessary to convert linoleic acid into GLA, and therefore need to take supplemental GLA.

In a British study, 111 patients with diabetic neuropathy were given either a placebo or 480 mg of GLA daily. After one year, those on GLA showed improvements in all 16 of the measurements made during the study. The researchers concluded that "administration of GLA to patients with mild diabetic poly-neuropathy may prevent deterioration, and in some cases, reverse the condition."

I suggest that you start GLA supplementation at 400 to 600 mg a day. The best GLA is derived from borage oil; evening primrose and black currant oil are also good sources.

Ogliogomeric proanthocyanidins, or OPCs, are likely the world’s most potent antioxidants—50 times more powerful than vitamin E. Like all antioxidants, OPCs protect your blood vessels and capillaries from free radical damage, and this makes them extremely valuable in treating diabetic retinopathy.

OPCs have been used in Europe for more than 20 years to strengthen blood vessels, including the capillaries. In one study, professor Henry Choussat of the University of Bordeaux gave 47 people 100 mg of grape seed extract. Seventy-two hours later, they showed a 147 percent increase in capillary resistance compared to those given a placebo.

Sources of OPCs have also been licensed in France for years to treat diabetic retinopathy. This use was first based on clinical studies of 40 patients who were given 80 mg to 120 mg of grape seed extract daily for a week and maintained on a 40-mg to 80-mg regimen for up to four months. Ninety percent of them had a reduction in micro capillary bleeding, and their eyesight improved noticeably.

There are two sources of OPCs: pine bark and grape seed. I recommend you get OPCs from grape seed, because a great deal of the research demonstrating the benefits of OPC was done with this source. Plus, it’s considerably less expensive than pine bark.

The initial dose is one mg per pound of body weight for the first week, in divided doses with meals, and then cut the dose in half after that. Round off your weight up or down to the nearest 50 pounds. For example, if you weigh 210 pounds, take 200 mg a day for the first week, and then continue on 100 mg a day.