Suzanne de la Monte, a neuropathologist at Brown University, has been working on these phenomena in humans and rats. What’s becoming clear, however, is that a lack of insulin - or insulin resistance - not only impairs cognition but seems to be implicated in the formation of those plaques. How those beta amyloid plaques (as they’re called) get there has been a mystery. In short, it appears, you develop Alzheimer’s.Ī neuropathologist named Alois Alzheimer noticed, over a century ago, that an odd form of protein was taking the place of normal brain cells. You even might lose aspects of your personality. And when the cells in your brain become insulin-resistant, you start to lose memory and become disoriented. This makes the insulin even more insistent and, to make matters worse, all those elevated insulin levels are bad for your blood vessels.ĭiabetes causes complications too numerous to mention, but they include heart disease, which remains our No. When the insulin calls altogether too often - as it does when you drink sugar-sweetened beverages and repeatedly eat junk food - the cells are overwhelmed, and say, “Leave me alone.” They become resistant. Put as simply as possible (in case your eyes glaze over as quickly as mine when it comes to high school biology), insulin “calls” your cells, asking them to take glucose from the bloodstream: “Yoo-hoo. It causes your cells to fail to retrieve glucose from the blood, either because your pancreas isn’t producing enough insulin or the body’s cells ignore that insulin. It’s tragically, increasingly common - about a third of Americans have diabetes or pre-diabetes - and treatable but incurable. Type 2 diabetes is chronic or environmental, and it’s especially prevalent in populations that overconsume hyperprocessed foods, like ours.
Type 1 diabetes, in which the immune system destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas, accounts for about 10 percent of all cases. Low insulin levels in the brain mean reduced brain function.
(Blood sugar doesn’t come only from sugar, but from carbohydrates of all kinds easily digested carbohydrates flood the bloodstream with sugar.) Insulin not only keeps the blood vessels that supply the brain healthy, it also encourages the brain’s neurons to absorb glucose, and allows those neurons to change and become stronger. But the cells can hold only so much excess sugar is first stored as glycogen, and - when there’s enough of that - as fat. We all need insulin: in non-diabetics, it’s released to help cells take in the blood sugar (glucose) they need for energy. The studies are increasingly persuasive, and unsurprising when you understand the role of insulin in the body. But for the record: chocolate is not the enemy.)
The idea that Alzheimer’s might be Type 3 diabetes has been around since 2005, but the connection between poor diet and Alzheimer’s is becoming more convincing, as summarized in a cover story in New Scientist entitled “Food for Thought: What You Eat May Be Killing Your Brain.” (The graphic - a chocolate brain with a huge piece missing - is creepy. Type 2 is brought about by a combination of factors, including overeating, American-style. We used to think there were two types of diabetes: the type you’re born with (Type 1) and the type you “get.” That’s called Type 2, and was called “adult onset” until it started ravaging kids. The good news is that laying off soda, doughnuts, processed meats and fries could allow you to keep your mind intact until your body fails you. Just in case you need another reason to cut back on junk food, it now turns out that Alzheimer’s could well be a form of diet-induced diabetes.
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