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Protect Your Brain: Treat and Prevent Diabetes
New research from the Netherlands suggests that the brain damage and mental decline caused by high blood sugar and diabetes begins long before the effects are noticeable.
Over time, this damage accumulates, leading to poor memory, slower thinking and less mental flexibility. And once the brain has already lost much of its original reserve capacity, the diabetic is more vulnerable to Stroke, Dementia and Alzheimer's disease later in life.
The study followed 2,600 men and women, aged 45-70, for a 5 year period. It tested many aspects of their mental functioning, such as memory and thinking speed.
About 5% of these subjects either had or developed diabetes during the study.
Of these, the subjects who already had diabetes had about 3 times the rate of mental decline as non-diabetic subjects.
More surprisingly, the subjects who developed diabetes during the 5 year study still experienced a mental decline twice as fast as "normal" subjects.
This suggested to the researchers that the brain damage caused by diabetes can begin very quickly once someone develops the disease, meaning that prevention and early treatment are absolutely critical to preserving brain functioning. However, the fact that mental abilities continued to decline in people who already had diabetes means that there is still value in treating people who have had the disease for a long time.
In my opinion, if you have diabetes TIME = BRAIN CELLS
If you are overweight or have diabetes, metabolic syndrome, or glucose intolerance, now is the time to do something about it!
1. Try to lose weight
2. See your doctor, and take your medications without fail
3. Exercise more
4. Eat more fiber
5. Consider herbal treatments such as Bitter Melon
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