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I experienced hands going numb about 2 years ago, shortly after being diagnosed with T2 Diabetes. I saw a neurologist for that, who felt that it's related to lifting weights without gloves or prior near carpal tunnel symptoms (not diagnosed with it, however), not diabetic neuropathy. He advised me to get hand-straigheners for sleeping at night (I didn't-- too inconvenient).

Since then, about a year later, I was diagnosed with autoimmunity (Sjogren's) and I started on a gluten-free, casein-free, and dairy-free diet: did not completely implement being nighshade-free (kept hot pepper sauces) and egg-free. I experienced siginficant improvements: my eyes and throat didn't become as dry as before, and the hands going numb happened less frequently.

Recently, however, I started bringing some dairy back. Heavy cream and sour cream immediately got my hands going numb at night regularly. I cut that out. Then I brought some Lindt's 85% and 90% dark chocolates. At most I consume 10-20g per day. Yet that seems to be enough to trigger hand numbness.

Has anyone experienced dairy causing hand numbness at night? Perhaps the solution is to pernamently cut out dairy and also explore cutting out all nightshades and eggs?

Of course, this may have nothing to do with autoimmunity -- it could just be the remnant of my near carpal tunnel from years ago (I used to be a wordprocessor for 10 years). So perhaps it's worth asking people with autoimmunity who're treating themselves with food avoidance.

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fwiw, lindt doesn't have dairy! afaik. i'm looking at the ingredient list on 85% extra dark... nope. – g. May 17 2011 at 22:59
that's not to say you aren't reacting to the lindt, just that it's not the dairy... – g. May 17 2011 at 23:02
You're right. The 90% however does say "may contain traces of peanuts / soybean / tree nuts / milk". That's not a lot. I'm trying to remember. Then it must be the hot sauce. But I was with it from the beginning and the symptoms stopped. I brought some conventional (i.e., non-grass fed) butter maybe 4 days ago to fry my parsnips. Could that have been? I took that out however and only fry my parsnips in bacon grease now. – Namby Pamby May 17 2011 at 23:34
chocolate is bean which is lectins... it is a frequent food allergen for whatever reasons (sorry -- bummer) – grace May 18 2011 at 21:40
(soy too -- OY! SOY!!) – grace May 18 2011 at 21:40

13 Answers

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It is probably a soft tissue tension/trigger point problem with your neck/chest/arm. A good massage therapist or neuromuscular therapist can help you out of this no problem. It was probably there years ago when you had the "carpal tunnel" episode and has just stayed subclinical since then. Look up Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and compare your symptoms. Yes inflammatory foods play a part in pain syndromes but posture, movement patterns, and tension are primary. I'd bet that you have Forward head Posture and rounded shoulders and a tight chest. All of these things can be helped quickly by a bodyworker who knows what they are doing. It is what I do day-in and day-out.

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Thanks, that's probably what my neuro would say. I'm also exploring that angle, too: residual damage from computer keyboards and from weightlifting. – Namby Pamby May 19 2011 at 19:19
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I've got peripheral neuropathy--and experience numbness, hot & cold de-sensitivity (enough that I can burn myself and not know it!), and tingliness in my hands (and sometimes my legs). Eating the wrong foods DEFINITELY exacerbates the problem. From the last 9 months of research I've done, which has been informative but still leaves me largely in the dark on what's going on (maybe because I'm not a scientist? or just have years more of learning to do), here's a rough list of "facts" that I've gathered. (DISCLAIMER: My expression of what I have learned may be less than beautiful. I'm working on writing a well-cited blog post for you and me, but until then, here's what I've got. Bear with me and take all these statements with a grain of salt since I'm putting all of this together from memory, even in the case where I can point you to a link.)

  1. Neuropathy & nervous system disorders have been linked to a vitamin B deficiency (especially B12, or cobalamin) (see Chris Kresser on B12 deficiencies)
  2. An important factor in the development of neurological diseases (and autoimmune diseases in general!!) seems to be damage to myelin sheathing -- you can read about this even on wikipedia
  3. Vitamin B12 is needed to both build and repair myelin sheathing
  4. Supplementing with very high doses of vitamin B12 (especially sublingually or via shot at the Dr's office) can help patients with nervous system disorders show short term improvement (the B vitamins are water soluble, meaning we can't store them in fat for later use, which is why the improvement is only short term)
  5. Vitamin B12 is found ONLY in animal products
  6. Improper digestion can be a cause of vitamin B12 deficiency, especially when the diet seems to suggest adequate B12 intake. Pernicious anemia is also linked to B12 deficiency (?) -- Chris Kresser talks about why we can be deficient in B12 even when we eat lots of it (see link above)
  7. Digestion starts in the mouth (with saliva--that's why they tell us to chew well)
  8. The majority of vitamin B and B12 digestion (linked to our body's ability to then absorb it) takes place in the stomach (can't cite this one... just remember reading it)
  9. Low stomach acid (HCl) causes us to be unable to properly digest our foods, resulting in malabsorption. If you don't have enough stomach acid then you can't make chyme, and if you can't make chyme then the rest of your digestive system can't do its job either (see Balanced Bites on HCl)
  10. Nutritional absorption also takes place in the intestines (obviously)
  11. Inflammation in and damage to the intestines interferes with our ability to absorb nutrients
  12. Gluten (especially the protein gliadin?) & dairy (and especially casein?) have been linked to inflammation of (and damage to) our intestines
  13. Foods containing antinutrients (i.e., grains, legumes, nuts, potatoes, etc.) can also cause inflammation in the intestines and also malapsorption (see Chris Kresser's post entitled "Don't Eat Toxins")
  14. Omega 6 causes inflammation while Omega 3 alleviates it; we should shoot for a 1:1 ratio

I've put together these 14 rough statements (again, i've been reading about this for about 9 months -- and can certainly polish up my language and understanding of all this stuff) all to say:

You may have a vitamin B deficiency. This might be because your digestive system isn't working properly. The dairy, soy, and legumes may be causing inflammation, further inhibiting your body's ability to absorb vitamin B, causing you to experience the nervous-system-disorder-like symptoms in your hands. You might want to focus on finding ways to reduce inflammation and improve your body's ability to digest the (good! and anti-inflammatory) foods that you're eating.

Keep experimenting with which foods do and don't cause you to have a flare up. Seems like your body is providing strong biofeedback that it doesn't like dairy and chocolate. For the record, I've realized I'm highly allergic to soy -- and either I'm also allergic to chocolate, or the "traces" of soy in my 100% cocoa bars are enough to cause symptoms.

Good luck.

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Very informative. Thanks. – ROB Mar 3 2012 at 20:15
Hope you're feeling better. – ErinLenhardt Mar 3 2012 at 20:38
I am curious if butter and cream are on the list of DO NOT EAT dairy? Since it is the fat part of dairy, does it have the casein? I am asking for a friend of mine, who has auto-immune issues and she doesn't like eating coconut oil (she also doesn't like to swallow pills) so for the Omega 3 she might try liquid supplement. I am trying to find a a "fat" she will include & get variety also. – FanOfSunshine Mar 3 2012 at 21:44
Cream supposedly contains little lactose & casein--and ghee is supposed to contain none. Some people still react to them tho. Your friend might benefit from a strict elimination diet (21 days?) & could try reintroducing ghee/butter/cream to see how she handles them. A friend who is lactose intolerant handles goat dairy well (very unscientific here: I heard the protein molecules are smaller?) so maybe she can play with that too. Nothing wrong with eating whole fish--and I love grassfed beef, lamb, & pork. For cooking bacon fat rocks; macadamia nuts have a 1:1 Omega 3:6; avocados are great, too. – ErinLenhardt Mar 4 2012 at 16:59
Also check out Mark Sisson's great post entitled How To Eat More Fat: marksdailyapple.com/how-to-eat-more-fat/… – ErinLenhardt Mar 4 2012 at 17:01
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I have auto-immune issues as well Hashimoto's, psoriasis, etc... Dairy for me is tricky. I can eat a fair amount of cheese without doing too much noticeable damage. Mostly I get lethargic and feel weak. Milk just wrecks me so I avoid it all costs. Eggs are 50/50 i enjoy them but occasionally they set me off and I feel like crap for 4 or 5 hours afterward. I am currently cutting them out. Nightshades (peppers) I seem to be fine with and frankly couldn't see eating without them.

As far as numbness goes I do experience that from time to to time but I just assumed it was due to me sleeping on my side. I would be interested to know if that is a common side effect of gluten / dairy intolerance as well.

Auto-immunity is a bitch... It really can only be treated holistically and identifying the triggers that set you off, vary widely from person to person.

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I do have psoriasis, so that makes it 2 confirmed cases of autoimmunity. I also suspect I may have a unique form of rheumatoid arthritis, which behaves more like gout: all my RA antibody and RA factor tests have been negative/normal however. And no past traces of gout when x-rayed. I'm non-compliant only on 2 small fronts: I've been gluten/casein-free since January. I'm only guilty of very small traces of dairy in Lindt's dark chocolates, eggs, and hot pepper sauce. Otherwise, I'm in full compliance with Robb Wolf and Cordain (except for grass-fed beef; I only do that occasionally). – Namby Pamby May 17 2011 at 22:18
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I actually experienced the same symptoms (hand tingling/numbness) for years...and didn't know what caused them till I went paleo.

I went paleo about 2 months ago. Any time I cheat with wheat + chocolate combo (read: donut) it comes back with a vengeance.

I don't have the symptoms with dairy, I have different issues with that.

It might be aggressive inflammatory symptoms. I keep my hand tingling numbness away by avoiding those combos. I can have chocolate, I just have to avoid the rest of the stuff.

I know that for a while I went chocolate free, and as much as it sucks, it is possible. I also have symptoms of inflammation with eating potatoes and such. No tingling, but my throat swelling is annoying. As is the post-nasal drip with dairy.

You might try an aggressive fish oil supplementation program (.5-1g per 10 pounds of bodyweight --> calculator here: http://whole9life.com/fish-oil/ ), cutting out the dairy, nightshades, sugar, and chocolate. If you do try chocolate after a 15-20 day period, you might want to track down an organic type with no added oils, soy, and minimal sugar.

I know I've talked to you about it before. Have you read Robb Wolf's book 'the paleo solution'? He recommends no dairy, grains, legumes, and if you have auto immune issues you want to cut out the nuts and eggs too. Yes, that includes nightshades, as much as that sucks. Try it for 30 days. You can at least figure out if it works or not.

I realize that food tastes good, and certain types of it are more attractive than others. But if you have an auto-immune disease, it would be easier to cut out almost everything, and then start rotating through the list of possible 'bad' stuff after 30 days of cleaning out your system. Then you can figure out what works, and keep that diet.

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Didn't read Wolf's book, although I've listened to just about all of his podcasts. I'm leery of taking that much fish oil, since I'm low on n-6 anyway (I try to keep my total PUFA under 4% of total calories). I'm working myself up to being in total compliance: I'm nightshade-free except for Louisiana hot sauce. I have no problem getting rid of Lindt's. I have no tingling (which seems more like neuropathy), though: do your hands down to your wrist go numb at night? Both hands? – Namby Pamby May 17 2011 at 22:09
The tingling will vary, the numbness is always the left side. Not sure what food product it is in particular, just know that particular products cause severe symptoms. Wasn't aware of the connection before, now I just avoid it because it's not fun purposefully doing it to myself. – Jake May 17 2011 at 22:21
I'll get Robb's book to make sure I didn't miss anything from his podcasts. But one book I've been following is Kent Rieske's Absolute Truth Exposed Vol I. Chapter 5 has his strategy for achieving remission from autoimmunity. I know some of you guys might laugh at him, but I respect Kent. His diet does include hard cheeses, eggs and butter. I'm afraid to bring them (cheese/butter) back but by introducing some dairy, I was tailoring my diet to Kent's. Perhaps eggs will have to go, too. – Namby Pamby May 17 2011 at 22:23
Just makes me wonder, if you have some tingling, you might want to explore that it's not actually neuropathy. Neuropathy can result from diabetes or other autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren's. I don't have any tingling but I used to have some tingling in my feet; I have a mild case of diabetic neuropathy there from years of not controlling my BG. As for my hands, I believe it's either autoimmunity or nerve-related damages from my prior work. – Namby Pamby May 19 2011 at 19:11
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Just my novice opinion, but I have autoimmune issues and developed asthma in January that the allergist told me that I'd need to stay on full dose Pulmicort for, and instructed me not to adjust my dose (he knew I had a history of underdosing myself because of my dislike for meds). So, because of the asthma, because I did not want steroids (I felt that I had enough problems without adding that into the mix), and because of other autoimmune symptoms I had been having, I decided to go paleo in March. One of the things that I cut out was hot sauce, not for any major reason other than I had a slight suspicion that it triggered my asthma. I stopped taking the Pulmicort about two weeks later, as an experiment, and haven't had one asthma attack since... UNTIL I had a cheat meal the other night of chicken wings (breaded and fried in crap oil, I'm sure) with hot sauce! So, I'd try eliminating the hot sauce, for me, it definitely gave me an inflammatory response, albeit in my lungs, not hands, but it may be worth cutting out to see if there's any improvement.

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so you've had other things 'breaded and fried in crap oil' sans hot sauce, without an inflammatory response? – g. May 17 2011 at 23:05
yes, I've had crappy chicken wings in sweet bbq sauce.. It's funny, but when I developed the asthma in January, I was on a Frank's hot sauce binge. I was putting it on everything. I googled asthma and hot sauce at the time, and I didn't find any strong correlation. I also asked the allergist, who basically said "if you are allergic to something, you wouldn't be suspicious about it, you'd know it"... intolerance, is another thing though, and they tend to shy away from those types of questions. – Cindy M. May 17 2011 at 23:20
Alright, that seems worth implementing, then. I mainly use my hot sauce for my bone-broth soup, which is too bland without it. You can't exactly put horse radish into your soup! Just black pepper, turmeric, and salt, then. Yes, I too am suspicious that the hot sauce isn't good for my "leaky gut" which I suspect I have. Robb Wolf has said that as much. – Namby Pamby May 17 2011 at 23:21
do either of you guys ever have probs with vinegar? i know that's a wild card.. just curious.. – g. May 18 2011 at 0:44
I'm ok with vinegar.. I'm actually having a hard time cutting it down, per Cordain's suggestion.. I just can't have lemon on salad that often! – Cindy M. May 18 2011 at 13:02
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My hands have been going numb at night too, the only difference I have made has been adding dark chocolate and potatoes. Either one of those could be the culprit or it could be something else entirely.

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Well, there is something in common. Does your dark chocolate have dairy? I'm curious. – Namby Pamby May 19 2011 at 19:18
Nope, it's 100%. I have experimented with dairy but it doesn't cause any notable reaction that I am aware of. – ROB May 19 2011 at 19:41
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I have had off an on tingling and numbness in my right hand and foot off and on for several months.

After logging my diet and onset of symptoms I figured out that both dairy and chocolate seemed to be triggering me- this makes sense since both are common gluten cross reactors and I am celiac!

If you want to know more about gluten cross reactors check out Dr O'Bryans article (PDF) about gluten cross reactivity and common cross reactive foods. Good info.

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I have had this problem also... toes sometimes tingling/numb in the am and fingers going numb.

After reading this I am wondering if it is poor circulation:

http://donmatesz.blogspot.com/2011/06/diet-effects-on-blood-coagulation.html

Around the time the numbness in my extremities started I also started getting severe nocturnal leg cramps and sometimes pinching cramps when walking briskly (my electolyte levels were tested at this time and were normal).

I have always consumed dairy and never have had any reaction to it as far as I can tell...although before Paleo it was always low fat. Don has recently switched from high fat/lowish carb to low fat/high carb Paleo...Not saying I agree with this: I don't really know what to think at this point and am pretty confused! However, I am trying less fat as an experiment to see if it helps as I am desperate to stop the cramping (and the numbness, while not painful is disturbing)!

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Nervous system disorders also cause muscle pain :( And they can cause blood pressure problems, too, for that matter. This link provides an overview of neuropathy and its symptoms: ninds.nih.gov/disorders/peripheralneuropathy/… Hope you're feeling better – ErinLenhardt Mar 3 2012 at 20:36
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Dairy causes the numbing and tingling, but I also get it when I have PMS, cornstarch ( which is found in MANY medications and supplements, or drink wine (sulfites). These symptoms all started 5 years ago when I had a post-viral syndrome which also included some other very frightening symptoms. While most went away, the neuropathies continue to resurface with above. My nutritionist is convinced that corn can be a real issue for B bloodtypes. My problems are with cornstarch, corn syrup -- any derivative or more concentrated form. Actual corn doesn't seem to cause the problems (but is likely not good either in more subtle ways).

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This is what causes it for me. May b tethers for others. – Karee Jul 20 2011 at 13:04
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There is no scientific evidence that vertebrae "sublux". Chiro's always find a subluxed back when you visit, I wonder why?$ Plenty of pain free people around with crooked backs.

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Skip the chiro, google "feldenkrais", & practice some mindful novel movements. Motion is lotion. Use the money you saved on chiro to buy some more healthy food.

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I experience hand numbness accompanied by pain when I eat glutten.

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If you are feeling numbness and tingling it's almost certainly a vertebral subluxation issue and you need to see a chiropractor. I would suggest a gonstead chiro aa they are the most effective, uninvasive, specific, natural type and many gonstead wellness chiros subscribe to evolutionary diet styles. A number of the paleo physicians network drs are chiros. The tissues around the joint are inflammed (like spraining an ankle) so it would make sense that eliminating gluten etc would alleviate symptoms but it will likely come back unless it's corrected with reg chiropractic care.

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 I don't see how you can possibly attempt to draw such conclusions with "near certainty" with the information you have been provided EVEN IF you were a chiropractor. – saiklón May 17 2011 at 23:13
Most common reason is CTS. From sleeping with a bent wrist. Nice try though! – The Quilt Jun 20 2011 at 20:42
Sometimes this numbness is caused by sublqxations, but I agree that your "certainty" is troubling. I have had both kinds of numbing. They ARE NOT the same;and can not be treated the same. I have nothing against chiropractors, and adjustments may help, but they will not cure many of these types of problems. (I have used chiropractic care for 30 years in 4 cities with probably several practioners so I know how effective chiro can be in some cases.) – Karee Jul 19 2011 at 13:45

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