The Connection between Diabetes and Cognitive Functioning

It is a well established fact that you could keep your blood glucose levels under control by avoiding a number of diabetes induced complications. But were you aware of this little fact – you could also benefit with regards to your cognitive functioning which would otherwise slip out of your hands with tacky blood glucose control?

Several journal reports have been instrumental in throwing light on the fact that if a person is suffering from extreme levels of blood glucose, it could interfere with his/her cognitive function abilities. This might, in the long run, increase the risk associated with the development of Alzheimer’s.

It is a fact that all of us have dealt with scenarios wherein we must have forgotten where it was that we’d placed our keys or forgotten that we’d placed that coffee pot on. That kind of forgetfulness, once in a while, is acceptable; and perhaps, it doesn’t even have to be a matter to worry about. But if you regularly keep forgetting things, then perhaps there is just a little more truth to the matter. But if you tend to forget things very often and your friends and family have nicknamed you ‘fuzzy brain’, then you probably have poor control over your blood glucose levels.

The Connection between Sugar and the Brain:

A study that was conducted by the researchers at the Virginia University claimed that the problem generally lay in the age-related changes that the brain has to undergo. The article spoke about how the brain also will slow down, like a person’s body tends to age; and along with this will come the slowing down of cognitive functioning. The cognitive function, which used to once be extremely agile, like a supple dancer, will begin to look older. Although this cognitive functioning will begin to dim at the age of 27, it will not begin to show until much after 10 years post this point.

According to a few studies that were conducted by the doctors at the Columbia University Medical Center, New York City; the measure of blood flow in a person’s brain had a lot to do with determining his/her cognitive functioning. Better the flow of blood, the stronger their cognitive skills.

When people have higher blood sugar levels, they will tend to have a reduced flow of blood in their brains. The decrease in the level of blood flow can automatically be lined to lesser oxygen and lesser amount of nutrients reaching the cells of the person’s brain.

This problem tends to be a little more serious when it comes to people with Type 2 diabetes.

Lowered levels of glucose could also turn out to pose quite a problem. According to a study that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, elderly folks who were connected with a history of hypoglycemia were more likely to have Alzheimer’s at a later stage in their life.