Effects of Diet and Exercise on Memory

1. Effects of Diet and Exercise on Memory Insulin Overview Alzheimer's as Type 3 Diabetes Beta Amyloid in Alzheimer's Exercise Cholesterol Vitamin B12

2. Insulin and Glucose • Eat food  body turns food into glucose • For simple carbohydrates and sugars, this is a fast process and glucose levels spike quickly  mood elevation, quick energy, alertness • Excess glucose in the blood is toxic, so high glucose signals the pancreas to make insulin • Insulin is a hormone that helps get glucose into the cells where it can be used for energy or stored as glycogen

3. What goes wrong • When glycogen stores are full, glucose still in blood  triglycerides by liver and sent to fat cells for storage • Receptors on cells become desensitized to insulin (insulin resistance)  insulin stays in the blood stream longer • Cyclical process – glucose still in blood  more insulin  increased insulin resistance • Excess glucose in blood keeps vitamin C from getting into immune cells  immune system compromised

4. Effects of Too Much Insulin • Inflammation throughout the body (brain) • Platelet adhesiveness (atherosclerosis) • Reduces Nitric Oxide levels • T4  T3 conversion reduced (thyroid), lowers metabolism, energy, brain function • Keeps sex hormones bound to globulin and unavailable to body

5. Alzheimer’s = Type 3 Diabetes • Risk of Alz. increases dramatically with age • Amyloid-Beta (Aβ) plaques form in the brain • Insulin resistance implicated in formation of Aβ • Low insulin in brain associated with Alz. • People with diabetes are twice as likely to get Alz. • Obesity alone increases the risk of impaired brain function

6. Diet, exercise reduces Aβ • High fat / low carb diet reduced levels of Aβ • APOE ε4 associated with higher Aβ deposits • Exercise mitigates APOE ε4 impact and reduces hippocampal atrophy in older adults. • Walking 2 ½ hours per week can significantly improve memory problems in the over-50s

7. Cholesterol • Liver makes 1400 mg a day regardless of how much dietary cholesterol you consume • Transported by lipoproteins (LDL, HDL, VLDL) • High carbs  high triglycerides  conversion of VLDL into small, dense LDL which can get stuck between cells lining the artery and get oxidized • HDL does clean-up and is increased by exercise

8. Cholesterol and Dementia • High total cholesterol late in life associated with a reduced risk of dementia • Statins reduce all LDL cholesterol levels, not just the small, dense particles • Cholesterol needed by the brain to function and statins reduce cholesterol in brain • Some evidence of statins contributing to: memory problems, erectile dysfunction, muscle weakness

9. Brain Shrinkage • Brain shrinks with age • High A1C (measure of avg blood sugar)  double the annual brain loss percent as low A1C • Larger waist to hip ratio  smaller the hippocampus (memory processing) • Vitamin B shown to help prevent brain shrinkage associated with ageing

10. Diet Overview • Yes to pastured meats, wild seafood, vegetables, nuts and seeds (modest amount), small amounts of fruits • No to grains (corn is a grain), sweeteners, soy, artificial ingredients • Yes to coconut oil, olive oil, butter, skin and fat from the meats and vegetables above • No to corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil, margarine

11. Exercise Overview • Move around a lot – walk ½ hour at a time 5 days per week • Resistance training – about 1 day per week to keep muscle strength • Move fast once in a while – about 1 day per week do intervals (bike, run, swim, row, …)

12. Nutritional Supplements • Vitamin B (sublingual) • Vitamin D • Omega 3 Oil (good quality) • Multi-vitamin • Protein Whey powder shake if protein is too low