TO YOUR HEALTH
Cognitive Clarity
Some would describe it as abandonment, some would say it just isn’t fair; nonetheless, the feelings rushing through you when someone you love looks back at you with indifference are seldom easy to describe. It’s not because your loved one doesn’t care about you, but rather doesn’t remember who you are. It might feel as if you’re losing someone before actually losing them to disease.
People with cognitive impairment often have trouble remembering or learning new things, concentrating or making decisions that affect everyday life. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16 million people in the United States are living with cognitive impairment. Moreover, it’s projected to impact 50 percent of the population above age 85.
The common cognitive condition Alzheimer’s disease affects more than five million Americans 65 years and older, and this number may rise to 13.2 million by 2050, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
The numbers are staggering, and there’s no cure for any known dementias—only treatment and long-term care, which cost billions. The Alzheimer’s Association estimates that just this year, “Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation $305 billion, including $206 billion in Medicare and Medicaid payments.”
New research has shown there is a possibility of lowering the chance of developing dementia even if it’s coded in one’s DNA. A recent report published by scientists at the University of Alberta found that genes have less than 5 percent to do with the risk that you’ll develop a condition you’re predisposed to.
“Simply put, DNA is not your destiny,” David Wishart, a professor in the University of Alberta’s departments of biological sciences and computing science, and co-author of the study, said in an interview earlier this year. “The vast majority of diseases, including many cancers, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease, have a genetic contribution of 5 to 10 percent at best.”
In other words, if your parents have suffered from cognitive decline, it is not a given that you will too. Lifestyle choices play a big role in human gene expression. What you do, eat, drink and even think can affect the outcome. But how can you be sure you’re doing the right thing?
Although, it’s not an official medical term yet, a growing number of scientists in the medical community are calling dementia “type 3 diabetes.” Researchers have found those with diabetes have a fourfold risk of developing mild cognitive impairment.
It turns out, poor metabolic health and insulin dysregulation may indirectly lead to memory loss. People with diabetes deal exactly with those two issues, among many others. They also tend to have vascular conditions, which may limit the blood supply to the brain, causing a shortage of nutrients and oxygen the brain heavily depends on.
When the brain is stripped from adequate oxygen and fails to recognize the insulin signal because of insulin resistance, insulin utilization malfunctions, which is linked to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s.
To break this down, when your insulin regulation is out of whack, receptors in your body don’t recognize the level of insulin already there, and your pancreas will pump out more to deal with metabolizing sugar or carbohydrates. This excess of insulin in the blood can end up in the brain where it doesn’t belong.
The human body is built to place priority on dealing with what’s important and to downregulate excess stress. Too much insulin is highly stressful for the brain, so it uses enzymes—let’s call them defensive soldiers—to clear it out. Those soldiers, however, had a different role that they now must step away from: to clean up excess beta-amyloid proteins. Busy with insulin, they can’t be in two places at once, and can’t protect the brain from a build-up of those proteins. These will then turn into “brain plaques,” which cause memory loss and may lead to dementia.
Regulating insulin begins with daily lifestyle choices. A Mediterranean diet that’s rich in antioxidants, healthy fats and
good sources of proteins has been found to be beneficial for not only heart health but also brain health. Keep in mind the brain is made up of 60 percent fat; therefore, consuming high-quality fats such as avocados, olive oil and fatty fish feeds the brain with the nutrients it needs to work optimally.
Other important lifestyle choices and habits worth picking up are regular exercise, stress management, mindfulness practice and adequate sleep. Deep sleep is especially essential because it’s when brain detoxification occurs.
In the same way bad decisions, no matter how small, will end up resulting in disease, step-by-step good decisions will lead to the opposite: a happier, healthier and longer life.
Klaudia Balough is a health and fitness writer for TOTI Media.
New research has shown there is a possibility of lowering the chance of developing dementia even if it’s coded in one’s DNA.