In the United States today, 80 million people may have prediabetes and 30 million have diabetes.  The transition from prediabetes to diabetes represents a progressive worsening of metabolic disturbances in lipid and glucose metabolism.

Diabetics face numerous challenges.  One of the most incapacitating is peripheral neuropathy. Peripheral neuropathy is an injury to a peripheral nerve due to the disturbance in lipid and glucose metabolism.  The neuropathy is often associated with weakness, numbness, and pain.  Most often, the longer nerves, those that serve the hands and feet, are affected first and most severely.  The progression and severity of these symptoms are thought to be related to elevated levels of saturated fatty acids circulating in the blood of diabetics.  The neuropathy carries high morbidity and has no treatments. Until now.

A recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience (8 May 2019, Vol 39, p. 3770) reported that a diet high in monounsaturated fatty acids may effectively reverse the progression of neuropathy and restore nerve function, even in the presence of a typical Western-style saturated fat diet. The study compared the effects of a diet high in saturated fatty acids with the effects of a diet high in monosaturated fatty acids on the development of neuropathy in a mouse model of diabetes.

The benefits of increased dietary intake of monounsaturated fatty acids have been known a long time. Simply dipping your bread in olive oil at dinner delivers a healthy dose of monounsaturated fats. These protective fats can also be obtained from nuts, avocados, and canola, safflower and sunflower oils. 

The mice fed a diet high in saturated fatty acids developed a robust peripheral neuropathy as represented by reduced nerve conduction velocities. A diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids restored the nerve condition velocity and prevented injurious changes in the biochemistry of the nerve. The diet rich in monounsaturated fatty acids also prevented the death of peripheral neurons which contributed to a lessening of symptoms of the neuropathy.

Fat plays many vital roles in the brain as well.  It might be possible to manipulate our dietary fat intact in order to treat or prevent disorders of cognitive function as well as peripheral neuropathies.  A diet high in monounsaturated fats increased in the production and release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.  Acetylcholine is critical for learning and memory; the loss of acetylcholine production in the brain leads to the memory problems associated with Alzheimer’s disease.  These findings support the addition of healthy oils to the diet and further demonstrate that sensible nutritional choices are vital for optimal brain function and peripheral nerve health in people with diabetes.

Gary L. Wenk is Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience & Molecular Virology, Immunology and Medical Genetics at the Ohio State University and Medical Center. He is the author of “Your Brain on Food”