Your brain on sugar represents the relationship between poor blood sugar control your risk for dementia. This relationship is so strong that researchers are now calling Alzheimer’s disease Type-3 diabetes.
As reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013, even slight elevations of blood sugar that are far below the diabetes range have been shown to significantly increase the risk for the development of dementia.
Blood sugar directly reflects dietary choices: eat too many refined sugars and carbohydrates and you will have a difficult time controlling your blood sugar. Furthermore, increasing good fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, nuts and avocado can support good cognitive function.
It is time we focused more on preventive medicine for brain health!
Elevated blood sugar stirs up inflammation in the bloodstream. Excess sugar can be toxic if it is not swept up and used by our cells. It also triggers a process called glycation – where sugar binds to proteins and certain fats, resulting in deformed molecules that don’t function well. These molecules set off an inflammatory reaction contribute to degeneration of the brain and its functioning.
The focus of preventive medicine needs to be on what triggers inflammation. Scientific research has, for the past several decades, clearly demonstrated over and over again that inflammation is a fundamental process that underlies the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
P.Crane et al “Glucose Levels and Risk of Dementia,” N.Engl. J Med. 2013
E.H Martinez-Lapiscina et al “Mediterranean Diet Improves Cognition” J. Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry May 2013
Suzanne M. de la Monte “Alzheimer’s Disease IS Type 3 Diabetes – Evidence Reviewed,” J.Diabetes Sci. Technol.2 Nov 2008.
David Perlmutter. Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs and Sugar – Your Brain’s Silent Killers. Little, Brown and Company; 2013