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