
Insulin keeps things running smoothly
If someone asked you to list just a few of the tasks carried out by your brain, what would you say? Learning, memory, movement? Well, insulin assists the brain in all these areas! Insulin makes it possible for brain cells to use glucose for energy while regulating chemical signals within the brain itself. Those chemical signals allow brain cells to communicate during the learning process as well as memory formation. As a result, individuals suffering from low levels of Insulin or Insulin Resistance are at a significantly higher risk of developing issues with cognition, dementia, or even Alzheimer’s disease. Consequently, people with Type II diabetes lose more brain volume with age than non-diabetics.Sugar and Carbs make Insulin’s job much harder
Unfortunately, maintaining your Insulin level may not be enough to entirely prevent brain damage. In fact, even if you do not have Insulin Resistance or Diabetes, it is still possible to limit your brain function through your consumption of sugar and carbohydrates. One study examined the short-term and long-term effects of glucose on the brain:- In the short-term, regular glucose exposure disrupted memory formation
- In the long-term, regular glucose exposure produced obvious shrinking of the hippocampus