Keep moving! - goodnews - high blood sugar levels - memory loss - Brief Article

Better Nutrition, May, 2003

People with an inability to quickly bring down high blood sugar levels--a pre-diabetic condition--are more likely to suffer from memory loss, say scientists. Could this help explain why memory loss occurs as we age?

A recent study indicated that people who metabolized blood sugar slowly had a smaller hippocampus--an area of the brain linked with memory and other abilities--and scored worse on tests for recent memory. The brain gets most of its energy from blood sugar, so if glucose stays in the bloodstream--rather than being metabolized into body tissues--the brain has less fuel available to store memory.

The study of 30 non-diabetic, middle-aged and elderly people raised the possibility that exercise and weight loss--which help control blood sugar levels--may be able to reverse some of the non-Alzheimer's memory loss associated with aging.

The findings are detailed in the February 5, 2003 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.