The Blood Sugar Warning EVERYONE Should Hear
As you fish around the bottom of the cookie jar for the last of the Christmas cookies, or dump out your stocking to finish off any remnants of holiday treats, I have a warning for you:
Don’t overdo it.
Sure, the holidays may be a “sweet” time of year. But there’s nothing sweet about the health effects that come from loading up on sugar.
In fact, a recent study highlighted the fact that you don’t have to have type 2 diabetes for your blood sugar levels to be high enough to cause serious damage to your brain.
If you don’t have type 2 diabetes or even pre-diabetes, your blood sugar levels probably aren’t on your radar.
But they should be.
According to recent research the higher your blood sugar the worse the impact on your brain health… especially for older adults.
For this study, researchers analyzed average blood sugar levels (HbA1c), brain activity (using MRI scans), and heart-rate variability (and indicator of brain health) in 146 healthy adults.
The results showed that high blood sugar levels were associated with decreased connection in brain networks that are important for memory, attention, and emotional regulation.
In addition, higher blood sugar levels were linked to lower heart rate variability, which equals worse brain health.
The study also revealed that the negative impact of high blood sugar on brain health was more pronounced in older adults and in women.
Whether you have type 2 diabetes or not it’s vital to reduce how much sugar you’re eating. If you don’t, your body and brain may pay the price.
P.S. Ditch dieting for better blood sugar control.
View Sources
Yu, J. X., Hussein, A., Mah, L., & Jean Chen, J. (2024). The associations among glycemic control, heart variability, and autonomic brain function in healthy individuals: Age- and sex-related differences. Neurobiology of Aging, 142, 41-51.
