Preventing Dementia

 

Keep Your Blood Sugar Levels Balanced to Prevent Dementia

 

When speaking to patients, I always emphasize the importance of balanced blood sugars for optimal health.  It has been known that diabetes is a risk factor for dementia, but for the first time the New England Journal of Medicine published a study that higher blood sugar levels may also increase the risk of dementia even without diabetes.  In this study, over 2000 adults were followed for more than 6 years and there was a significant correlation between higher blood sugar levels and increased risk of dementia. (Crane et al. 2013)

 

How do you know what your blood sugar levels are at?

When going for your annual physical, it is important to check both your fasting blood glucose and also your HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin).  The HbA1c is especially useful as it provides a 3 month average of your blood sugars.  If you see that the levels are at the high end normal, it is time to make some healthy changes.

 

What can you do to stay balanced on a daily basis?

• Avoid refined sugars—not only should you limit the amount of food with sugar added to it such as juices and sweet snacks, but white breads and white rice should also be avoided.  Instead, have whole grain bread, brown rice and try incorporating other whole grains such as quinoa and barley, which are lower on the glycemic index.  Click  HERE  for more information about the glycemic index.

• Eat a quality breakfast—your morning blood sugar levels can set the barometer for your day’s blood sugar.  If you start your day off with low sugars due to skipping breakfast or high sugars due to eating only cereal or a muffin, your may have a tough time keeping them balanced for the rest of the day.  Make sure that you are having healthy protein and/or fat sources.  For example, try adding eggs, avocado or nuts & seeds as it can make a difference!
• Include protein with every meal and snack—once you’ve had your quality breakfast, maintain balanced blood sugars by ensuring that every meal and snack includes protein.  Protein sources include fish, lean meats, eggs, nuts & seeds and legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils, etc…).  Note, it is important to get your protein from a variety of sources and not just from animal meats.
• Do not wait too long in between meals—aiming to eat around every 3 hours will be helpful to avoid low blood sugars and “hunger pains”, which often lead to poor dietary decisions—we tend to grab a sugary snack at this point.  This does not mean that we should be eating a full meal every 3 hours.  Instead, you may portion out one meal into two small meals or include healthy snacks in between meals.  It is very helpful to keep snacks stashed at work, in your bags, car etc… for those emergency situations.