Canary in a Coal Mine!
If you could predict your risk of Alzheimer’s Disease with a single marker, would you use that marker to define your lifestyle from now on in order to prevent the disease?
Insulin Resistance may be that marker – the canary in the coal mine, says Amy Berger, author of Alsheimer’s Antidote.
Alzheimer’s Disease is the Result of an Energy Crisis!
The AD brain is a shrunken brain. The axons and dendrites – the fingerlike sending and receiving ends of the neurons – are shrunken. In this condition, signals cannot cross the synaptic gap between two neurons, and messages fail be to be relayed. According to Berger, the atrophied condition is a protective measure by the body to conserve energy when there is a shortage.
But why would there be a an energy shortfall in the brain? Because of Mitochondrial Dysfunction, which is always found in AD, Berger says. Mitochondrial Dysfunction and the resulting energy shortage triggers the neuron shrinkage!
Mitochondrial Dysfunction Means the Generator is Damaged
Inside every cell is a tiny powerhouse, the mitochondria. It is surrounded by two membranes – an inner one and an outer one. These membranes act like bouncers in a bar – they let the good guys in and kick out the bad ones. For a cell, good guys are nutrients and bad guys are waste materials. The nutrients fuel the mitochondria’s process of creating energy. When the bouncer membrane shuts out nutrients, the mitochondrial generator is incapable of providing enough energy.
Well, the modern diet is beating up the cell membranes around the mitochondria the way a scoundrel might rough up a bouncer. The membranes need proteins for their construction. But unfortunately, proteins are subject to glycation. That’s a condition where proteins become sticky and cross-linked because of chronically excessive glucose in the blood (think high refined carbohydrate consumption.) A glycated mitochondrial membrane can’t accept nutrients into the mitochondria.
Berger warns that the predominant abnormality in AD is a 45% reduction in glucose utilization in the brain, meaning even when the raw materials are available for energy production, they aren’t being consumed. This reduction in fuel consumption can be observed years – even decades – before AD symptoms present themselves!
High Insulin Precedes Glycation Damage
Insulin actually has a protective role of removing glucose from the blood before it can do any damage. The higher your blood sugars go, the more insulin is released to sweep the glucose into the cells. So if mitochondrial membranes are glycated, that means insulin is no longer doing its job! In other words, you have become insulin resistant! See the cascade? Insulin resistance can occur years before blood sugars become chronically elevated, and chronically high blood sugars are damaging the mitochondrial membrane and causing dysfunction. That dysfunction is a pre-cursor to the manifestation of AD.
What if You Could Stop Insulin Resistance?
You can! By eating a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet, properly balanced! Start by eliminating white flour and white sugar. A nutritional therapist can help you fine tune your diet further.