Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Is Alzheimer’s Diabetes of the brain? Alzheimer’s has been called Diabetes Type 3 for more than a decade. Numerous studies are ongoing worldwide.
This is great news for those wanting to protect the brain, despite their gene status. There is much you can do, at home, every day, to protect yourself from dementia.
Here’s a quote from one Alzheimers’ website:
The latest study to look at the effects of blood sugar levels on the brain has found that high glucose concentrations can lead to an increase of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles, suggesting that Alzheimer’s disease may actually be a third form of diabetes.
The Role of Insulin Resistance In Alzheimer’s
Glucose in the brain is not metabolized by Insulin as it is elsewhere in the body. The best method of reducing elevated brain glucose is changing your diet to avoid sugars, high fructose corn syrup, grains, pasta, chips, beans, and other high carb foods that make up the core of the Standard American Diet (SAD).
The human body actually prefers to burn fat for fuel. Fat is a more satisfying and stable fuel than starch. For those of us who have made the switch from bread, cereal and pasta-based meals, the change in weight, health, lab results, energy and body performance can be profound.
Genetics and Alzheimer’s
The ApoE-4 genotype is a known risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s. The more copies you have, the higher the risk.
BUT….
The risk/outcome studies have all been done on people following a standard American diet and lifestyle. They haven’t looked at those eating an Ancestral Diet who have removed most grains, sugars, starches and processed foods from their plates. Or those who exercise appropriately while eating better.
Should You Test for the APOE-4 Gene?
23 and Me is one way to test your genes but the test has an overwhelming amount of data you may not want. This website has information on testing pros and cons and how to ask your doctor to test just the APOE-4 gene.
APOE has cardiovascular implications as well as brain health. If you have multiple copies, let your test results mobilize you to permanently change your diet and lifestyle now.
What If You Already Have Diabetes?
I consult many people who’ve been told they are pre-diabetic or newly diabetic. When I review their new client Food Diary, it’s usually pretty clear why their Insulin and Glucose levels are unstable or high.
I help coach the diet and what should be on your plate and in your fridge and the easiest ways to get them there. My DVD “The Diet For Human Beings” can help too. Replacing sugars and starch with proteins, vegetables and fats helps the body make changes it wants to make.
Adding even basic exercise is essential to retrain muscle cells to accept insulin-driven glucose into use. You don’t have to do advanced work to get benefits to the brain.
For those relying on Diabetes medications and not attempting to control their diet, I hope this information on the link between Alzheimer’s and Diabetes of the Brain will make a difference.
Is There Any Prevention for Alzheimer’s?
These studies on Type 3 Diabetes as Alzheimer’s are the best we currently have for prevention. Numerous books have reported on this for more than a decade.
The popularity of Keto Diets the last 6 years has come in large part from the research on Alzheimer’s and Diabetes of the Brain. While I don’t agree that most people need to move beyond “true and correct Paleo” (the way I teach it) into “Keto” (if they even know what it really means), it’s great to see people consuming more coconut oil, grass fed meats, vegetables and tubers while reducing grains, starchy carbs and sugars.
Studies on Alzheimer’s and Diabetes of the Brain
This article from 2008 in the Journal of Diabetes Science confirms the link between Diabetes as Type 3 and Insulin Resistance with Alzheimer’s. 2008! Why are we not hearing more about this connection every day in the news?
Supplements for Brain Health
These professional-grade products are in my Online Store and used in my Clinic and Consults. They are useful for Blood Sugar, the Cardiovascular System, Circulation and antioxidant support. They can be taken daily, long term.
Systemic Formulas’ GCEL Glutathione Complex
Systemic Formulas’ CVO Oil Cardiovascular Complex
OrthoMolecular OrthOmega High DHA premium Fish Oil
Systemic Formulas’ P – Pancreas Complex
