What is the link between blood sugar levels and Alzheimer's disease?

Dr. Mehmet Oz, MD

Cardiology (Cardiovascular Disease)

While death rates for cardiovascular disease and prostate cancer have been declining, deaths from Alzheimer’s disease are on the rise. Diets high in sugar have been linked to an increased diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Your blood delivers all kinds of rich nutrients to the brain. But if you have a lot of sugar in your blood, it can cause inflammation. This allows plaque to collect on your neurons, which are where you store your memories. The plaque makes it harder for neurons to fire off signals and causes them to freeze up. Eventually, they are prevented from talking to each other; the information those neurons carry can’t be transmitted or retrieved. When these synapses begin to fail, we begin to see the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.

A fasting blood sugar greater than 100 puts you at a greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
This content originally appeared on doctoroz.com

RealAge

There may be a newly discovered bonus to good blood sugar control -- better recall.

Turns out that Alzheimer's disease and the #1 blood sugar disorder, diabetes, share something in common -- something that wreaks havoc on normal brain function -- lack of insulin.

A long-term Swedish study revealed that too little insulin ups Alzheimer's risk. Men with low insulin secretion at age 50 had a significantly greater risk of the mind-robbing disease -- as well as other types of dementia -- later in life. One caveat though is that the link was strongest in men without the gene that predisposes people to Alzheimer's.

Exactly how an impaired insulin response bumps up the Alzheimer's risk isn't clear. But it definitely underscores the importance of diabetes prevention efforts.

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Alzheimer's Disease Causes

While much still remains a mystery about the exact cause of Alzheimer's disease, certain factors -- such as age -- present in most cases. Fifty percent of people over age 85 have Alzheimer's disease. Controllable lifestyle factors such as sleeping habits, diet choices and smoking can contribute to your risk of the disease. For more information on Alzheimer's disease, check out our experts' answers to frequently asked questions.

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