Helping Your Body Heal: The Vizuri Way

Part 01 / Nerve Health

Burning, Tingling, or Numb Feet? What Your Nerves May Be Telling You

Maybe your toes feel as though they have fallen asleep, even when you have been moving around. Perhaps your feet burn when you settle into bed, or you find yourself watching the ground more carefully because you do not feel quite as steady as you used to.

These changes can be easy to explain away. A long day. Uncomfortable shoes. Getting older.

At Vizuri Health Center, we encourage you to pay attention when something feels different. Persistent numbness, tingling, burning, or changes in balance deserve a closer look. Understanding what is happening is the first step toward making informed decisions about your care.

What is peripheral neuropathy?

Your peripheral nerves connect your brain and spinal cord with the rest of your body. Some help you feel touch, temperature, and pressure. Others help your muscles move. When peripheral nerves become damaged or stop working properly, the resulting condition is called peripheral neuropathy.¹

That term describes a problem with nerve function; it does not, by itself, tell us why the problem developed. This distinction matters. Two people can both describe burning feet and need very different care.

We believe a helpful conversation begins with more than naming the symptom. We also need to consider its pattern, its effect on your daily life, and the possible conditions behind it.

Neuropathy does not always feel like pain

Burning and electrical sensations often get people's attention. Reduced sensation can be quieter. You may feel as though you are walking on padding, notice that your socks seem bunched up when they are not, or struggle to tell exactly where your feet are positioned.

Symptoms can include tingling, numbness, unusual sensitivity to light touch, weakness, and difficulty with balance. The combination depends on which nerves are affected.¹ Something that feels strange rather than painful can still be worth evaluating.

Think about how these changes influence your choices. Are you avoiding uneven trails? Holding the railing more tightly? Cutting a shopping trip short? Those details help communicate the real impact of your symptoms, even when a pain score does not capture it.

Why finding the cause matters

Diabetes is a common cause of peripheral nerve damage, but neuropathy also occurs in people who do not have diabetes. Possible contributors include certain vitamin deficiencies, medication effects, heavy alcohol use, autoimmune conditions, kidney disease, and injuries or pressure affecting nerves. Sometimes, a cause remains unknown despite investigation.²

This is why we do not recommend choosing a treatment based on a symptom checklist alone. A person with a nutritional deficiency needs that deficiency addressed. Someone with a medication-related problem needs a discussion with the prescribing clinician. Other findings may call for specialist evaluation.

At Vizuri, our interest in whole-person health means taking the broader story seriously. We want to understand what may be contributing and where our care can fit within the support you need.

Could the problem be coming from somewhere else?

Tingling does not automatically mean a widespread neuropathy. A compressed nerve near the spine can also cause radiating pain, numbness, or weakness. For example, cervical radiculopathy involves a nerve root in the neck and may produce symptoms into an arm or hand.³

The location and distribution of symptoms provide clues, but they do not establish a diagnosis on their own. Whether symptoms affect one side or both, follow a particular path, or change with position can help guide the examination.

Bring a simple description to your visit: where symptoms begin, when they occur, how long they last, and what makes them better or worse. You do not need perfect medical language. Your observations are useful.

What an evaluation can help clarify

An assessment typically includes a health history and examination. Depending on the findings, additional testing or referral may be appropriate. Blood tests, nerve conduction studies, and other investigations answer different questions; no single test explains every case.^{1, 2}

We also encourage you to bring a medication and supplement list, along with any previous test results. Tell us about changes in walking, sleep, work, and the activities you enjoy. Together, these pieces help build a clearer picture.

A meaningful next step should leave you understanding what is known, what still needs clarification, and what options make sense for you.

When to act sooner

Sudden one-sided numbness or weakness, especially with facial drooping or trouble speaking, calls for dialing 911 immediately.⁵ Rapidly worsening weakness also needs urgent medical attention. If you have reduced feeling in your feet, a new wound or signs of infection should be assessed promptly.^{2, 4}

For ongoing symptoms, you do not need to wait until they become severe to start the conversation.

Start with understanding

At Vizuri Health Center in Williston, we offer a neuropathy program and believe education is an essential part of care. We want you to feel comfortable asking questions and clear about your next steps.

If burning, tingling, or numbness is changing how you live, contact our team to schedule an evaluation. We can help you explore whether our neuropathy services are appropriate or whether another type of evaluation should come first.

In the next article, we will look at the question many people ask next: Can damaged nerves heal, and what should a thoughtful treatment plan include?

Sources & further reading

National Library of Medicine. Peripheral Nerve Disorders. Read source
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Peripheral Neuropathy. Read source
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Cervical Radiculopathy (Pinched Nerve). Read source
NIDDK. Diabetes & Foot Problems. Read source
CDC. Signs and Symptoms of Stroke. Read source

If so many people vow to lose weight each year, why do so many fail?

If weight loss and a healthier lifestyle are at the top of your list of New Year’s resolutions, you’re not alone. Many people start out the new year vowing to drop some pounds – but not all succeed. One likely cause is an under-functioning metabolism (the rate at which we burn calories for energy), which can directly correlate to weight gain and loss. The good news is that scientists have made a lot of advancements in our knowledge regarding metabolism, and tapping into those discoveries can put you on the road to success. Below, are 10 Healthy Ways to Rev Your Metabolism.

According to current research, you’ll be more successful if you have a concrete plan that centers around a proactive approach to adding healthy habits to improve your metabolism, not depriving yourself.

Understanding Metabolism

Simply put, your metabolism refers to the number of calories your body burns for energy. We know when the body is efficiently burning calories, it also maintains a healthy weight and body composition. Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is a measurement of how many calories you burn while at rest, without adding in additional exercise. The thermic effect of food is a reference to the increase in metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories) that occurs after ingestion of food. When you eat food, your body must expend some energy (calories) to digest, absorb, and store the nutrients in the food you’ve eaten.

Many factors influence your metabolism overall. These include age, body composition, gender and even the food you consume. Although we all tend to blame a slowing metabolism in middle age on growing older, new research shows that it’s not so much the aging process (although that does play a role), but the lifestyle changes we tend to make in late adulthood that are to blame for midlife weight gain.

Signs Your Metabolism May Need a Boost

Our metabolism impacts more than just our weight. Several other body systems are also impacted, including our hormones.

If you are experiencing the following, it may be a sign that your metabolism is not functioning optimally:

Tiredness and fatigue
Struggle to lose weight – despite exercise
Cold hands and feet
Thinning hair
Low libido
Irregular periods
Poor sleep
Bloating, constipation and more

So what can we do to help speed up our metabolism and once again become an efficient calorie-burning machine? Read on for 10 healthy ways to implement lifestyle changes that can rev your metabolism and help you reach your resolution goals for 2022.

10 Healthy Ways to Rev Your Metabolism

1 – Give your body the right calories

It may seem counter-intuitive, but calorie restriction can slow down your RMR. Think of it this way: Your body wants to make sure you have the energy you need. When it senses you might not have enough caloric intake to support basic energy requirements, it adapts by requiring fewer calories for survival. That’s a big reason why although crash diets may result in short-term weight loss, many people can’t sustain their new lower weight very long.

2 – Spice up your meals

Certain spices have thermogenic effects which means they can switch on your body’s heat-production systems, boosting your metabolism as you eat them and afterwards. Spicy foods can have a more pronounced thermogenic effect, so increasing consumption of spicier foods, including cayenne pepper, ginger, and turmeric, can impact your metabolism.

3 – Focus on B vitamins

The B vitamins serve many functions in the body, one of which is to help your body metabolize food, so it’s essential to get enough. Good sources of B vitamins include fruit and vegetables such as bananas, spinach and peas, whole grains, legumes, eggs, and lean meats. Note that vitamin B12 is mostly available through animal sources, so vegans and vegetarians may want to investigate supplements. Proper testing and speaking with a natural healthcare practitioner can help determine if you have any nutrient deficiencies.

4 – Choose whole foods and plenty of protein

Heavily processed and overly sweetened foods and beverages create an inflammatory response in the body slowing digestion, increasing the production of harmful free radicals, raising insulin resistance, and ultimately slowing your metabolism. Instead of processed foods, choose foods as close to their natural state as possible. In particular, quality sources of protein are important. The thermogenic effect of consuming protein is higher than that of carbohydrates or fat, and protein helps prevent muscle loss, which you want to keep even if the goal is losing weight.

5 – Add resistance training to your workout routine

Because muscle is more metabolically active than fat, increasing the amount of muscle on your frame will raise your resting metabolic rate. A resistance training workout can also create an “afterburn” effect, in which you continue to burn a greater number of calories after the workout is over.

6 – Stay hydrated and choose your beverages wisely

Making careful choices about what you drink can help keep your metabolism in check. Staying hydrated with water is important for maintaining a well functioning metabolism, as even mild dehydration may slow metabolism down. Some studies show that green and oolong tea consumption can boost your metabolic rate by as much as 5%. Coffee also has a similar thermogenic effect shortly after consumption.

7 – Get enough sleep

Sleep has a surprisingly big impact on your metabolism, considering you’re not active when you’re asleep! Your body will find ways to conserve energy if you’re tired, and studies confirm that your RMR decreases after a night of inadequate sleep. Plus, when you’re tired, you’re more likely to make poor food choices, in part because sleep helps maintain a balance between the hunger hormone, ghrelin, and the fullness hormone, leptin.

See Dr. Schenck’s tips on getting a good night’s sleep!

8 – Reduce stress

When you’re stressed, your body’s “fight or flight” response leads to increased production of the hormone cortisol. Once again, this is the body’s way of trying to conserve energy in stressful times, and, as a result, cortisol can lead to an increase of appetite. Insulin secretion also increases with higher cortisol levels. This made sense centuries ago, when resources were often scarce during times of stress, but in today’s world of modern conveniences, it often leads to weight gain. Of course, reducing stress isn’t always easy, but stress-reduction strategies like moderate exercise and meditation have proven results.

9 – Build in incidental movement to your days

Moving more doesn’t have to mean formal workouts at the gym. Simply adding more incidental movement throughout the day improves your metabolism. Whether you’re cleaning your house, parking a bit further away from the store, using a standing desk at work, or taking the stairs instead of an elevator, you’re helping your metabolism in a way that fits with your daily life. Even fidgeting more can help improve your non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), which is the number of calories you burn aside from formal workouts. NEAT tends to slow down with age – we move less in regular life as we get older – so make a conscious effort to keep this on your radar as you age.

10 – Keeping a regular schedule for meals

Skipping meals might seem like a good weight loss strategy, but ultimately, your body likes a regular schedule. As with low-calorie diets, skipping meals can trigger your body to conserve energy, which ultimately slows your metabolism.

Implement these 10 Healthy Ways to Rev Your Metabolism and take control of your weight loss journey today! If you’d like help finding the perfect balance for your unique health goals with tailored recommendations, we’re here to help.

Sources

Pesta DH, Samuel VT. A high-protein diet for reducing body fat: mechanisms and possible caveats. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2014;11(1):53. Published 2014 Nov 19. doi:10.1186/1743-7075-11-53

Hursel R, Westerterp-Plantenga MS. Thermogenic ingredients and body weight regulation. Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 Apr;34(4):659-69. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2009.299. Epub 2010 Feb 9. PMID: 20142827

Dulloo AG, Geissler CA, Horton T, Collins A, Miller DS. Normal caffeine consumption: influence on thermogenesis and daily energy expenditure in lean and postobese human volunteers. Am J Clin Nutr. 1989 Jan;49(1):44-50. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/49.1.44. PMID: 2912010.

Boschmann M, Steiniger J, Hille U, Tank J, Adams F, Sharma AM, Klaus S, Luft FC, Jordan J. Water-induced thermogenesis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Dec;88(12):6015-9. doi: 10.1210/jc.2003-030780. PMID: 14671205.

Bacaro V, Ballesio A, Cerolini S, Vacca M, Poggiogalle E, Donini LM, Lucidi F, Lombardo C. Sleep duration and obesity in adulthood: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2020 Jul-Aug;14(4):301-309. doi: 10.1016/j.orcp.2020.03.004. Epub 2020 Jun 8. PMID: 32527625.

Kiecolt-Glaser JK, Habash DL, Fagundes CP, et al. Daily stressors, past depression, and metabolic responses to high-fat meals: a novel path to obesity. Biol Psychiatry. 2015;77(7):653-660. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.05.018

Van Pelt RE, Jones PP, Davy KP, Desouza CA, Tanaka H, Davy BM, Seals DR. Regular exercise and the age-related decline in resting metabolic rate in women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1997 Oct;82(10):3208-12. doi: 10.1210/jcem.82.10.4268. PMID: 9329340

Yamamoto R, Tomi R, Shinzawa M, et al. Associations of Skipping Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner with Weight Gain and Overweight/Obesity in University Students: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Nutrients. 2021;13(1):271. Published 2021 Jan 19. doi:10.3390/nu13010271

Top 10 Healthy Ways to Rev Your Metabolism