At this stage of the game, everyone knows that a high-carb diet is bad for your health. Too much sugar and high glycemic index carbohydrates make you fat, wreaks havoc with your blood sugar and leads to late onset diabetes
At this stage of the game, everyone knows that a high-carb diet is bad for your health. Too much sugar and high glycemic index carbohydrates make you fat, wreaks havoc with your blood sugar and leads to late onset diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
The damage shows up in every cell of your body. Perhaps one of the more interesting and troublesome points is that your brain suffers from high amounts of carbohydrates in your diet too. This is interesting since the brain uses glucose exclusively as an energy source, but the link between too many sugars in the diet and cognitive dysfunction is undeniable.
Tufts University Nutrition and Neurocognitive Lab researchers have noted that older people with impaired glucose tolerance, insulin insensitivity and diabetes have higher levels of cognitive decline and dementia. They speculate that this may be a result of oxidative stress (free radicals) and faulty transport of glucose to the brain.
The results are staggering. Older adults who ate the most carbohydrates in relation to protein and fat were at approximately four times the risk of cognitive impairment than those who ate a more balanced diet. Risk also rose exponentially with diets heavy in simple sugar.
The Tufts researchers believe that low fiber carbohydrates, such as white flour pasta bread and other refined grain products, as well as sugary foods, cause spikes in blood sugar that increase blood glucose levels, which over a relatively short period of time lead to cognitive impairment.
Whole grain foods, such as whole wheat products, brown rice, unrefined oats and barley, retain the fiber and nutrients from the grain’s bran and germ, thereby increasing the nutrient value and slowing down the digestion time. This means whole grains cause a less dramatic rise in blood sugar. Other carbohydrate foods, such as beans and vegetables, also have a significant amount of fiber and nutrition.
In addition to cognitive decline, a new study on the effect of soft drinks on the brain revealed that older adults who drank four or more sweetened soft drinks daily are 30 percent more likely to suffer from depression. The puzzling part of this study is that it is not just the sugar that is linked to depression, but it appears that the sweet taste is the key.
Those who consumed artificially-sweetened drinks were actually at a higher risk for depression than those who consumed sugary drinks. The study compared people who consumed artificially-sweetened sweet drinks, sugary drinks and coffee. The coffee drinkers had a slightly lower risk of depression than those who consumed sugary drinks or artificially-sweetened drinks.
A word to the wise. Cognitive decline is one of the leading causes of disability and lack of independence in older people. We can do much to protect ourselves from the ravages of old age by thoughtfully living each day. Eating well and living a healthy lifestyle that incorporates daily exercise and fun, social interactions is our best insurance. We are all responsible for how our life turns out. It is not up to the medical profession to keep us well. That is our responsibility. We are lucky to be living in an age where we have resources to help when we are struck by accidents or disabilities, however, to blindly disregard our own responsibility and then to expect the medical system to come to the rescue is simply irresponsible.
• Jane Riley, M.S., B.A., C.P.T., Certified Nutritional Adviser, can be reached at janerileyfitness@gmail.com, 212-1451 or www.janerileyfitness.com.
