~~The Sugar Alzheimer's Connection
Those of you who have read my articles over the last two or three decades, recognize that Alzheimer's is very near and dear to my heart. You see, both my father and my grandfather died from the ravaging effects of this horrible condition. I know that many of you who are in the "sandwich generation" are dealing with the early or late effects of Alzheimer's with your own parents as well. You are caught up in the emotional quagmire of trying to balance what is best for your parent, and your family. Unfortunately, and I speak from experience here, you forget to factor yourself as the primary care-giver into this equation. As a result, you may not be taking the best care of yourself. So, before I go any further with my discussion on some recent research into one of the aggravating, if not a causative factor in Alzheimer's, I would like to take this moment to emphasize to you to step back and take a look at how this situation is impacting on you. This may mean that you need to begin looking at others to take the load off of you. Perhaps a sibling or another close family member. It may mean reaching out to members of your church to come in and spell you for a brief period so that you can take a break. It might even mean hiring an outside service to assist with watching over your loved one for a few hours a day.
Please consider yourself when you find that you are selflessly caring for a parent, husband, wife, or other loved one. They need you, and you need your Health in order to be able to support not only them, but others in your life as well.
Having said that, I want you all to understand that this debilitating neuro-degenerative condition has many different theoretical causes. I have my own thoughts on what stimulates Alzheimer's to begin and progress. There is a multitude of ongoing research into not only the causes, but also the treatment for dementia in its many forms. One of those research studies was published in October of last year in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. As some of you know, I take issue with labeling this condition as a "disease". You see, in spite of the fact that there may be some theories that Alzheimer's is due to some form of viral or bacterial infection, the vast majority of research is not pointing in this direction for a cause. No, instead the body of scientific research is pointing more in the direction of "lifestyle" as the cause, which is what the researchers at Tulane University found. Their studies indicated that high blood sugar levels, like those found in Type 2 diabetes, cause the beta amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer's to be more toxic to the cells lining the blood vessels in the brain. This study, like others before it, point to blood sugar levels as a causative factor in the onset and progression of dementia symptoms. This is due to the changes that occur in the blood vessels in the brain of individuals with diabetes. These changes may cause alterations of blood supply to the brain of diabetic individuals. There may also be an alteration in the body's ability to "clear" beta amyloid plaques from the brain as well, due to the increased blood glucose level. It is also believed that the increased blood sugar levels may alter the protective "blood brain barrier".