Alzheimer’s Disease has been identified as the fifth leading cause of mortality in people 65 and older. It is followed closely behind by diabetes. Diabetes not only increases one’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, but is also the 7th leading cause of mortality in the U.S. Actually, in diabetic patients the risk for all types of dementia is increased by 60–73%
By the year 2045, an estimated half a billion people will have diabetes.
Let’s talk about how Diabetes Impacts the Brain and the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease:
There are 3 commonly known types of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) mainly shows up in childhood and early adulthood because in the pancreas the β-cell are destroyed, which causes an absence of insulin.
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is most common among adults and represents 90% of diabetes worldwide. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is when your cells have become resistant to or have stopped using insulin (insulin resistance) AND the pancreas has developed a defect where it is making and releasing less insulin – meaning it isn’t making it as well as it used to.
Insulin resistance is common and it is a commonly used term – it is associated with pre-diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and defined as the inability of tissue to respond to or use insulin properly.
Insulin resistance is usually present several years before it actually shows up as Type 2 diabetes. And in some people insulin resistance may never progress to type 2 diabetes.
Insulin resistance can be harmful for so many reason, but in terms of brain health, besides creating what we call brain fog on a regular basis, it increases the risk for dementia and more specifically Alzheimer’s disease.
Type 3 diabetes is a metabolic syndrome where insulin resistance actually develops in the brain which then leads to neurodegeneration (nerve breakdown), impaired use of insulin to signal within the brain, and the buildup of nerve toxins. Diabetes will influence the processing of memories, modulate brain shrinkage or atrophy, and disrupt communication of signals passing through synapses or terminals.
It has become widely accepted that people with Type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
An estimated 40-65% of people with Alzheimer’s have what is considered the Alzheimer’s gene APOE-e4. You get one copy of APOE from each parent. APOE is involved in making a protein that helps carry cholesterol within the bloodstream. seems to interfere with brain cells’ ability to use insulin, which may eventually cause the cells to starve and die.
Please note that Alzheimer’s is NOT caused by a single gene.
It appears to develop and be influenced by a number of genes, along with multiple lifestyle and environmental factors.
DECREASE THE RISK OF DEMENTIA & IMPROVE BRAIN FUNCTION:
1. Calorie restriction / Fasting
2. Exercise – Recent study although it was small, studied 14 women and 7 obese men with insulin resistance. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was sued to determine brain insulin sensitivity and resistance. After 8 weeks of exercise the authors found an improvement of insulin resistance in the brain – https://insight.jci.org/articles/view/161498
3. Switch from a western diet to a Mediterranean diet. Mediterranean diet may reduce the risk of dementia by 1/4.
https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-023-02772-3
4. Cut down of fake cooking oils (vegetable oils) and processed foods. Start using olive oil, coconut oil, ghee, tallow, or other forms of natural oils to cook your food.
5. Supplement with Omega 3 Fatty Acids
6. B Vitamins -( B12, B6, and methyl folate) -A 2022 meta-analysis of 95 studies lasting 12 months or more with 46,175 participants found that s…
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