Sugar Shrinks Your Brain

February 19, 2012 /

This is your brain on sugar

I’m not as smart as I used to be.  But, I just thought it was something that happened to everybody as we aged… part of life.  Now I wonder – because I’ve learned: sugar shrinks your brain.  And I have a  CRAZY sweet tooth.  Plus the blood sugar roller coaster ride that goes hand in hand.  Can you stop the train?  I’d like to get off.

Blood sugar surges are old news.  Brain shrinkage is new, at least to me.  Sarah, the Healthy Home Economist, explains that when we eat sugar, glycation takes place in our bodies.

Glycation is the chemical process in the body whereby glucose, proteins, and certain fats become tangled together making all manner of body tissue stiff and inflexible – including the brain.

Glycation is a big free radical problem in the body causing rapid aging.  In neurological terms, glycation has the very real potential of actually shrinking brain tissue.

Great.

Sarah goes on to say, “Consider that Alzheimer’s patients are notorious for having a voracious sweet tooth.  Eating sweets on a frequent basis with the accompanying blood sugar surges depletes magnesium in the body at a rapid rate leaving the brain vulnerable to the ravages of aluminum.   A high aluminum level in the brain is, of course, a hallmark symptom of Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Brain Shrinkage, Alzheimer’s Disease – Motivation Enough?

You think I’d leap off the sugar train and never touch the stuff again.  Somehow, it was easy to get rid of high fructose corn syrup but sugar is proving more difficult.  Perhaps I need more evidence (and maybe you do too!)

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist, explains in his video (with over 2 million views!), Sugar: The Bitter Truth, that sugar is a full-fledged toxicant and contributes to many of the major fatal non-communicable conditions, like cardiovascular disease and cancer.

What To Do
Sugar is a toxin.  Repeat after me.  Sugar is a toxin.

And we can reduce our intake.  Jump over to the Healthy Home Economist and read her great article about “Slaying the Sugar Monster“.    She gives some step by step instructions including the predicatable, get rid of refined and artificial sugars, but then perhaps some surprising ones like, eat more fat!

Want to read more?   Check out Primal Mind, Primal Body by Nora Gedgaudas.

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2 Comments

  • liz

    February 20, 2012 at 2:59 am

    Hi! This is an interesting topic to me. I would just say people should try out different things to see what works for them. It seems like if we are related to monkeys\apes and they survive on bananas and other fruit then that is the most natural thing for us combined with greens and a small amount of fat. I tend to believe that commercial grains cause the most damage in people. I was on a low glycemic diet for about 3 years so I have had a lot of experience with it. For me it was great for weightloss but mentally I wouldnt say it was great or physically. I dont really have a sweet tooth so it was pretty easy for me but fruit just seems more natural. I guess what I am saying is that I bought this idea of cell damage hook line and sinker and now I am not so sure. Maybe it is good to try for a month as a kind of cleanse or even just do a fast for a week or more as a cleanse- but long term Im not so sure.