Could the Type 2 Diabetes Epidemic be Related to Alzheimer’s Disease?Could the Type 2 Diabetes Epidemic be Related to Alzheimer’s Disease?
December 16th, 2012
We know that what we eat affects our health—it’s a no-brainer. And many of us realize how foods affect our mental health as well as our physical wellbeing. Most recently, scientists have begun to uncover the link between the modern diet and Alzheimer’s disease—specifically, how sugar consumption and Type 2 diabetes could be contributing to the declining mental health of our global population.
According to an article from Mother Jones, the Type 2 diabetes epidemic may be related to the growing number of elderly people suffering with Alzheimer’s.
Insulin regulates blood sugar, telling the body when to take sugar from the blood to use it for energy or store as fat. Insulin resistance (or pre-diabetes) happens when our cells stop responding to insulin. In turn, the pancreas produces more insulin in an effort to basically get the attention of these unresponsive cells, raising blood sugar levels and leading to Type 2 diabetes.
In addition to regulating blood sugar, however, insulin produced in the pancreas also regulates neurotransmitters “crucial for memory and learning.” Because of this and its importance in the function of blood vessels supplying the brain with oxygen, insulin resistance or Type 2 diabetes can “immediately impair cognition.”
When your insulin spikes, your brain can’t keep up with the activity. As sort of a safety measure, it starts turning down insulin signaling to prevent brain damage. This impairs your cognitive abilities, affecting your thinking and your memory.
Another study links cognitive dysfunction with excess sugar consumption and substantiates the evidence that pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes and cognitive decline go hand-in-hand. According to UCLA scientists, rats fed a steady diet of fructose (found in table sugar and the vilified high-fructose corn syrup) developed both insulin resistance and impaired brain function in only six weeks. Six weeks is pretty fast when you consider a fall from your healthy habits could last this long.
So, what’s the bottom-line? Our physical health and our mental health are connected. One cannot separate the two and our foods have an immediate and dramatic impact on both. Maintaining proper physical health through good nutrition is, in essence, maintaining proper mental health through good nutrition.
Excerpt
We know that what we eat affects our health—it’s a no-brainer. And many of us realize how foods affect our mental health as well as our physical wellbeing. Most recently, scientists have begun to uncover the link between the modern diet and Alzheimer’s disease—specifically, how sugar consumption and Type 2 diabetes could be contributing to the declining mental health of our global population.
Excerpt
We know that what we eat affects our health—it’s a no-brainer. And many of us realize how foods affect our mental health as well as our physical wellbeing. Most recently, scientists have begun to uncover the link between the modern diet and Alzheimer’s disease—specifically, how sugar consumption and Type 2 diabetes could be contributing to the declining mental health of our global population.
Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/could-type-2-diabetes-epidemic-related-alzheimers-disease/#ixzz2iNR665E5
Follow us: @naturalsociety on Twitter | NaturalSociety on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment