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Effects of Diet and Exercise on Memory
• Insulin Overview• Alzheimer's as Type 3 Diabetes• Beta Amyloid in Alzheimer's• Exercise • Cholesterol• Vitamin B12
Insulin and Glucose
• Eat food body turns food into glucose• For simple carbohydrates and sugars, this is a
fast process and glucose levels spike quickly mood elevation, quick energy, alertness
• Excess glucose in the blood is toxic, so high glucose signals the pancreas to make insulin
• Insulin is a hormone that helps get glucose into the cells where it can be used for energy or stored as glycogen
What goes wrong• When glycogen stores are full, glucose still in
blood triglycerides by liver and sent to fat cells for storage
• Receptors on cells become desensitized to insulin (insulin resistance) insulin stays in the blood stream longer
• Cyclical process – glucose still in blood more insulin increased insulin resistance
• Excess glucose in blood keeps vitamin C from getting into immune cells immune system compromised
Effects of Too Much Insulin
• Inflammation throughout the body (brain)• Platelet adhesiveness (atherosclerosis)• Reduces Nitric Oxide levels• T4 T3 conversion reduced (thyroid), lowers
metabolism, energy, brain function• Keeps sex hormones bound to globulin and
unavailable to body
Alzheimer’s = Type 3 Diabetes
• Risk of Alz. increases dramatically with age• Amyloid-Beta (Aβ) plaques form in the brain• Insulin resistance implicated in formation of Aβ • Low insulin in brain associated with Alz.• People with diabetes are twice as likely to get
Alz. • Obesity alone increases the risk of impaired
brain function
Diet, exercise reduces Aβ
• High fat / low carb diet reduced levels of Aβ • APOE ε4 associated with higher Aβ deposits• Exercise mitigates APOE ε4 impact and
reduces hippocampal atrophy in older adults. • Walking 2 ½ hours per week can significantly
improve memory problems in the over-50s
Cholesterol• Liver makes 1400 mg a day regardless of how
much dietary cholesterol you consume• Transported by lipoproteins (LDL, HDL, VLDL)• High carbs high triglycerides conversion of
VLDL into small, dense LDL which can get stuck between cells lining the artery and get oxidized
• HDL does clean-up and is increased by exercise
Cholesterol and Dementia
• High total cholesterol late in life associated with a reduced risk of dementia
• Statins reduce all LDL cholesterol levels, not just the small, dense particles
• Cholesterol needed by the brain to function and statins reduce cholesterol in brain
• Some evidence of statins contributing to: memory problems, erectile dysfunction, muscle weakness
Brain Shrinkage
• Brain shrinks with age• High A1C (measure of avg blood sugar)
double the annual brain loss percent as low A1C
• Larger waist to hip ratio smaller the hippocampus (memory processing)
• Vitamin B shown to help prevent brain shrinkage associated with ageing
Diet Overview
• Yes to pastured meats, wild seafood, vegetables, nuts and seeds (modest amount), small amounts of fruits
• No to grains (corn is a grain), sweeteners, soy, artificial ingredients
• Yes to coconut oil, olive oil, butter, skin and fat from the meats and vegetables above
• No to corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil, margarine
Exercise Overview
• Move around a lot – walk ½ hour at a time 5 days per week
• Resistance training – about 1 day per week to keep muscle strength
• Move fast once in a while – about 1 day per week do intervals (bike, run, swim, row, …)
Nutritional Supplements
• Vitamin B (sublingual)• Vitamin D• Omega 3 Oil (good quality)• Multi-vitamin• Protein Whey powder shake if protein is too
low