Excess Sugar Linked to Alzheimer’s: Study Finds a ‘Tipping Point’
Scientists have found something quite interesting, Alzheimer’s disease could be caused by excess sugar. Could this be a reason to ditch the sweet stuff?
Research from the University of Bath found excess glucose damages a vital enzyme involved with inflammation response to the early stages of this disease. Abnormally high blood sugar levels or what is known as hyperglycemia is a characteristic of diabetes and obesity. As you may know, diabetic patients have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s.
There is a molecular link between glucose and Alzheimer’s disease. By studying people with and without Alzheimer’s researchers have found that in the early stages of Alzheimer’s, glycation damages an enzyme called MIF. MIF is something that plays a role in immune response and insulin regulation and glycation limits its power to do so.
Researchers have come to believe that the inhibition and reduction of MIF activity could be the ‘tipping point’ in disease progression. Dr. Omar Kassaar from the University of Bath has stated that excess sugar is:
“well known to be bad for us when it comes to diabetes and obesity, but this potential link with Alzheimer’s disease is yet another reason that we should be controlling our sugar intake in our diets.”
Could reducing our sugar intake prevent us from getting Alzheimer’s or at least reduce our chances? Only time will tell, there is much more research to be done but this is very important information, to say the least. What do you think about all of this?