A Link Between Blood Sugar And Alzheimer's?
>> April 10, 2008
By not controlling your blood sugar levels you put yourself in line for a whole host of problems including thirst, blurred vision, slow to heal cuts and bruises, kidney disease, nerve damage, heart disease and more. Now, it seems, there is another problem to add to that list. According to a long-term study published in the April 9, 2008, online issue of Neurology, men who develop diabetes in mid-life appear to significantly increase their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
The study, which tested the glucose levels of 2,269 Swedish at age 50 for diabetes, found that during an average follow up of 32 years, 102 participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The results indicate that men with low insulin secretion capacity at age 50 were nearly one-and-a-half times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than people without insulin problems.
One of the researchers, Dr Elina Rönnemaa, says, "A link between insulin problems and the origins of Alzheimer's disease emphasizes the importance of insulin in normal brain function." She contemplates that perhaps insulin problems lead to damaged blood vessels in the brain, which causes problems with memory and Alzheimer's disease, but she emphasized that further research was needed to discover the detailed underlying biology.
Whatever the reason for the connection, it means that you need to keep your blood sugar levels in control. If you are not sure if your blood sugar levels are normal, The American Diabetes Association encourages people to take the Diabetes Risk Test and, of course, be sure to follow up by speaking to your physician regarding your results.
Source: Diabetes In Mid-life Linked To Increased Risk Of Alzheimer's Disease
9 comments:
I'm learning from you!Thanks!
I found this topic extremely interesting so I looked for some more information. IT turns out that multiple studies have come to similar conclusions. Here are articles I found about the topic from the Mayo Clinic and from a study at the University of Washington.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/diabetes-and-alzheimers/AZ00050
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/AlzheimersDisease/tb1/1506
Thanks Moonlae... now if you're like me you just have to put it all into practice!
Tom,
Thanks for the added links! Isn't it interesting how not addressing one problem with our bodies can add a whole host of other problems?
Hi, I'm glad you wrote this post! :)
I'm not at all surprised that refined sugar is now linked to alzheimers. I'm actually a sugar addict (addicted to refined sugar and flour), however as long as I stay off of it I feel awesome. Well, it's not just me who is addicted to the stuff though, many of my readers are, too.
Refined sugar is so addictive in the human body, it actually creates the same reaction in the brain as opiates (ex: heroin, morphine) do....that's why you always want more.
One of my fav reads on this topic is Sugar Blues by William Dufty, but I've also blogged about many other great resources.
More reasons for me to try to be healthy. great info! Thanks!
Hi, thanks for commenting in my blog regarding the same issue.
It is a new knowledge for us that there is a link between Diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
Great, another problem coming my way. The hits just keep on coming.
My god! You really scared me. i think I've been irresponsible with my body all these years. Now, I promise u I'll take care.
Thanks.
Rajan.
And that's a Swedish study...I'm sure Americans would do even worse with a blood sugar poll like that!
Post a Comment
Thank you for taking the time to comment. I always try to respond to any comments made.