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.
Continue Learning about Alzheimer's Disease Causes
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