There are plenty of good reasons why you want to kick sugar out of your life, but keeping your brain intact is the latest and maybe the most important.
Most people will agree that one of their greatest fear is death, but what people fear even more than dying is the loss of their mental capabilities. No one wants to forget loved ones and cherished memories, not to mention forgetting how to tie their shoes or needing help to go to the bathroom.
While the exact reasons why we get Alzheimer’s disease remain a mystery, scientist have recently made astounding discoveries that point to a connection between Alzheimer’s and sugar consumption. If the bulk of Alzheimer’s disease can be blamed on eating sugars and foods that act like sugar, then we have a great opportunity to avoid the mental decay we see so often in the elderly.
New Alzheimer’s Discoveries
Scientists have discovered some pretty interesting things about people with Alzheimer’s.
First, scientists discovered that the brain produces insulin. This is astounding because it was previously thought that the only place in the body that produce insulin was the pancreas. What’s more, the amount of insulin in the brain produces plummets in Alzheimer’s patients as the disease progresses. In fact, on of the signs of the beginning of the disease is a noticeable drop in brain insulin. Scientists are beginning to wonder if the progression of the disease can actually be measured by the amount of brain insulin.
These findings point to the possibility of insulin resistance developing in the brain separate from the rest of the body.
Insulin is a hormone and it doesn’t travel alone in the brain. There are other chemicals in the brain known as insulin-like growth factors and these also decrease when insulin decreases. It is the absence of these insulin-like growth factors that are thought to lead to brain cell death, and the brain cell death occurs especially in areas responsible for memory such as the hippocampus and hypothalamus.
Alzheimer’s Sugar Connection
It has long been known that people with diabetes have a greater chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease, but these new studies are the first to show that there may be a closer relationship between sugar and Alzheimer’s disease. For puzzling reasons, the two diseases are interrelated, but not the same disease. Some people who have diabetes don’t get Alzheimer’s and some people with Alzheimer’s disease don’t have diabetes.
The key question is what causes insulin to drop in the brain? If insulin production in the brain is similar to what happens to the rest of the body, then the drop in insulin is due to an overworked system that is constantly overloaded with too much blood sugar.
Avoid the Inevitable
There are so many diseases we see as inevitable: heart disease, cancer, dementia, arthritis. If you are growing old, you are bound to get one or all of those diseases.
It doesn’t have to be that way! You can avoid a majority of those diseases (including Alzheimer’s) by choosing the foods you eat wisely. The best way to stop or reduce sugar is to take my 30 Sugar Free Days Challenge. It is a great program that leads you from your current high sugar path to a healthier path.
Sugar is what killed my mother. My sister who lived with my mom and fed my mom pies, ice cream and all kinds of sweets. My sister knew better than to feed my mom sweets. I lived out of town and didn’t have any control of the situation. My sister even laughed about how much sweets she was feeding my mom. My sister is an alcholic which made it impossible to deal with.
Please don’t feed your loved one sweets. Try a probiotic to try to get rid of their yeast infection. Sugar causes an overblowned yeast infection in the gut.
As long as you are alive its not too late to try to reverse what ills you. Get rid of the sugar. Why are you consuming sugar in the first place? Why put limits on a person’s life?
My mother, 91, has dementia. She lived with me for a little over a year. She recently moved in with my sister. During her time with me, I noticed when she ate sugary foods, she became confused a little later. She wouldn’t know where she was and had trouble remembering if her siblings were still alive, etc. I took her off of sugar, only letting her have very little now and then. She improved a lot. Now that she is with my sister, she has candy readily available. She is more confused than ever. My sister says at 91, she should have what she wants. I see her point but feel the sugary foods should be out of reach. What is the answer?
Linda,
This is a tough question. Do you give someone dying of lung cancer a cigarette? My answer is that it depends on the situation and the person. I think that your point about it making things worse is a good one. If your mother simply craved sugar and it didn’t affect the quality of her life, then you might agree with your sister, but since if changes her mental status you should push to have her reduce the sugar in her life.
I’m very interested in this discussion as i know of at least 3 people with diagnosed dementia/alzheimer’s who have all eaten a lot of sweets and sugar. I was wondering that if the body is craving sugar does that mean that the body needs sugar? Is the sugar making it worse or helping?
Ruth,
There are a few researchers who are calling Alzheimer’s “brain diabetes” and I feel that as people progress in the disease, their inhibitions drop and they start to eat more sugar. More research will show us if sugar is connected to Alzheimer’s, but it is looking like it more every day.
My mother’s got Alzheimer’s too. She’s at the end on Stage Two. I am googling the connection between sugar and the disease tonight because she has become utterly fixated with sugar. She can’t make food for herself – not even toast. But if she spys something sweet in the fridge she’ll eat all of it. The only time she lights up is when she gets to have cake or ice cream or chocolate. I’ve also observed that she has a “crash” after eating (suddenly can’t cope with noise or other people if we are out). (And that she can drink a lot more caffeine than me. If I take the coffee away she has a significant mental drop.)
Sheridan, the best way to deal with this is to limit the amount of sweets you have around the house. I wish I could tell you that controlling sugar would change the course of the disease, but there is no research to support that. I would say, though, that caffeine has been shown to help with dementia so you can continue the coffee.
Scott
Hello,
I just recently joined the kitchen staff at a home specifically for alzheimer’s and dementia patients. We make everything high calorie on purpose to fight weight loss but the only thing they will eat well are the desserts and sweet snacks. We do three meals a day and 3 snacks a day. At the snack times that are non-sweets (like a peanut butter or cheese sandwich) don’t get eaten well and the residents end up asking for a cookie or whatever leftover dessert we have. I willingly give this to them knowing they need the calories but I have been searching trying to get ideas about how to sneak some nutrition into the desserts and sweets. The current staff is primarily concerned about calorie consumption, which I agree is extremely important, but isn’t there also research that certain nutrients can help slow the disease progression? Besides that, a good balance of nutrients is important for all bodies, especially the elderly who are more injury/illness prone. With all that said, any resources you could point me to would be great.
P.S. We do serve 2-cal calorie supplement to some of the residents with significant weight loss, but the staff is even wanting to get away from that if possible.
Tonya, I wish I had resources to send you to, but I don’t. My feeling is, if you have any control, that you can try to sneak good proteins into the sweet foods (make peanut butter cookies, for example). With kids you can bribe them (eat your broccoli before you get your ice cream) but that is unworkable in your situation and my understanding is that the Alzheimer’s patients will simply not eat when given such a choice.
Best of luck and thank you for being so concerned.
Scott
I sent a google request for information on dementia and craving for sugar. My mother who died in the autumn of 2010 had dementia and craved sugar to an extent that she would eat spoon full after spoon full. There must be some connection between the disease and sugar craving other than lowered inhibitions. My mother rarely ate sweets until she developed dementia and then it became an addiction for her. To pass it off as nothing more than a “childhood wish” is demeaning to all who have experienced this strange behaviour during a very difficult emotional time.
Roberto,
I apologize if my comments caused you distress. What I meant to say was that many Alzheimer’s patients revert to a child-like state as they progress in the disease. I, too, have had family members with the disease. There is a strong relationship with Alzheimer’s and sugar (some researchers call it “brain diabetes”).
Scott
Dear Scott,
No worries my friend. I appreciate your kind response. However, I do believe more research needs to be done to uncover the reasons for this common craving in those with dementia. Perhaps this will even lead to better treatment and earlier warning signs.
Again my thanks.
Kindest regards,
Roberto
I agree!
My mother-in-law has alzheimers. She craves the coke,cake,candy and anything else sweet she can find. We find it very hard to get her to eat anything else. 3 yrs ago be the alzheimers got bad, she would not have touched these sweets. She continues to lose weight while eating all this sugar! I truely believe there is a connection between sugar and alzheimers!
My step father just passed away. He had alzheimer’s and in the late stages craved sugar a lot. In his last week the only thing he would accept to eat was pudding and ice cream with a tablespoon of potatos thrown in here or there. I just find this whole thing very interesting and would love to know more about the connection between sugar and alzheimer’s. I would not be surprised at all if it is one day found that the sugar cravings in late stage Alz. Is more common than anyone thought. Maybe it would help the medical community find a cure if they worked backwards. This comment is not meant to be condisending at all. I hope it does not read that way. Thank you for your posts.
Heather,
Your comment is not condescending at all. I agree with you! In fact, there are a few other posts lower on the page that mention the same thing: huge cravings in late state Alzheimer’s. I think that they will eventually call Alzheimer’s a type of diabetes, but might have to wait a while for that. I think the craving of late Alzheimer’s has to do with a few things, but most likely the loss of inhibitions (like a young child).
Hello, Heather just wrote to you and you responded. I’m Heather’s mom and it was my husband who passed away 10 days ago. His final decline was rapid – like suddenly falling off a cliff and onto a greased sliding board. It is true that in the end he craved sugar constantly – even wanting sugar in his water. I always intended to ask the doctor about that but always forgot when I had the chance. All of my husband’s first degree family members have/had diabetes: parents, siblings, even some aunts and uncles. My husband did not have diabetes; he did have Alzheimer’s. I’ve read recently that a connection is theorized. I hate this disease more than I have ever hated anything. I watched it destroy my very bright and successful mind. Yes, he was 84. But without that disease, he was a healthy, vibrant 84. I’d be fascinated to know anything that scientists already know. Thank you for your very interesting article.
Hi Gloria,
I wrote this article based on some interesting new research, but the link between Alzheimer’s and sugar has yet to be established and I hear almost nothing about it. Hopefully, future research will show us more.
Thanks for your comments.
Scott
I have alzhiemers and I eat a lot of fruit and now try to avoid other sweets….
Dr. Scott,
My mother has alzheimers and my Dad had vascular dementia so the docters say.
My Dad passed away after suffering thru this now I
watch my Mother. So…I am terrified and have made significant lifestyle changes…
diet, exercise, yoga, meditation but lowering my sugar intake made the difference!
Your article made so much sense to me. My mother ate terrible in her younger days
eating lots of sugary treats and cakes all the time. She was always depressed and anxiety
ridden. I know when I eat alot of sugar I feel
terrible and depressed also. So I took control and recently reduced the sugar in my diet and feel wonderful!
I am 50 and hope its not to late for me! Maybe sugar could be the trigger that APOE gene
needs to turn on. Alzheimers is a complicated disease I pray for a cure in my lifetime!
Thank you for the info
This article in the NYT about the explosion of AD in S. Korea is interesting in that the only prescriptive quote is to “stop drinking so much sugar and alcohol.” Wonder how they’ve thought of the connection. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/26/health/26alzheimers.html?_r=3&hp=
My father is 83 and (I believe) has Alzheimers. He has not been “tagged” but every classic symptoms seems to be in place: loss of balance, memory loss, hallucinations, lack of mobility, confusion, and inability to accurately express himself. His doctor prescribed Exelon patches (last year) which helped initially, but do not seem to have much of an effect on him now. Over the last month, Dad has started to crave sugar. He asked for a cup of hot cocoa this morning, ate oatmeal flavoured with maple syrup and brown sugar, and then wanted a chocolate bar soon afterwards. I have only just learned about the connection. Can you provide further websites or advice?
With Gratitude,
paula
Paula, let met first encourage to have your father checked out by a medical doctor. There are many diseases that mimic Alzheimer’s and some of them are easily fixed. As far as the sugar goes, I think he is just loosing his inhibitions. People with Alzheimer’s revert to a younger age and act more child-like and they are going to eat sugar just because it tastes good. You can also have him checked for diabetes. As far as other websites, I like The Alzheimer’s Association, they usually have local resources. Here is another article I like: Link Between Diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease Strengthened
Good Luck,
Dr. Scott
My father, who is only 62, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He has been declinig rapidly (especially after having a kidney stone removed – I think the anesthesia made things worse). Anyway, do you think reducing/eliminating his sugar intake at this point could help at all?
Oh how I miss being able to have real conversations with him. I am an only child and he doesn’t remember my childhood let alone if we spoke earlier the same day. I guess I should be happy he still knows me. I will really lose it when he doesn’t.
Thank you.
Hi Amy,
Sorry to hear about your father. At this point, taking him off of sugar would make little difference. It is very much like smoking cigarettes, the damage has already been done.
I wish you the best,
Scott
I am caring for my 92 year old mother with dementia. She will eat anything with sugar all day long. If there is anything in the houce such as dessert, icacream, Candy, Cake etc. She will fing it and eat huge amts. I have to watch her constantly to avert this. Previously she never ate desserts or sugary things so I don’t get the connection. She is not diabetic and I see no other reason that she would do this. Is this one of the symptoms of worsening dementia or AD? Please help….
Loretta,
I haven’t heard of that as a symptom of AD, but it makes sense. As AD symptoms progress people tend to have lowered inhibitions and she is eating sugar because it simply tastes good and she wants it. It sounds like you had her tested for diabetes and as you read, Alzheimer’s may be considered “brain diabetes” but there is no common test for that. The best you can do is to keep it away from her (but you already know that) or consider a long-term care facility.
I wish you the best of luck,
Scott
Loretta,
Please stopping buying sugary foods. Don’t bring sugary food home.
Also stop buying and cooking white potatoes. Eliminate other foods which turn into sugar. Have you considered a naturopathic doctor?
A beacon of light for anyone with the slightest connection to Alzheimer’s disease.
It is important not to close the door because somwhere out there is light.
If offered support – accept it!
How about further discussion on severe sugar cravings with AD. TY
New blog post: The Alzheimer’s and Sugar Connection http://tinyurl.com/dkuuad