Why Blood Sugar Matters (page 5 of 5)

The Mood and Memory Connection

A meal that raises blood sugar fast and furiously can leave you dragging like a willow in a windstorm. Not surprisingly, it doesn't do much for your mood, either.

Our moods are intimately affected by the levels of hormones in our systems, including the hormone insulin. These hormones in turn affect neurotransmitters, chemical messengers in the brain. The different types of nutrients we eat, including carbohydrate and protein, affect these transmitters differently, triggering drowsiness or alertness. But the brain may be most sensitive to one simple compound: blood sugar.

Unlike muscles, the brain can't store sugar. It needs just the right amount of it at all times to function best, so it's not surprising that it's very sensitive to even very small differences in the amount of blood sugar available. A steady supply -- which the foods in this book will help you achieve -- is by far the best.

Both low and high levels of blood sugar can cause trouble when it comes to your mood and memory. People report feeling more symptoms of depression when their blood sugar is low. Memory is affected, too. In one study, people with diabetes had more trouble processing information, remembering things, and paying attention -- besides being in a bad mood -- when their blood sugar was low. In people with type 2 diabetes, blood sugar swings are linked not only with poor memory but also, over time, with cognitive decline and dementia.

High blood sugar levels spell trouble, too. Long before they cause diabetes, they can impair the brain, shrinking a part that stores memories and increasing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. In one study at New York University, researchers found that in people who tended to have high blood sugar levels after meals, a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is most associated with long-term memory, was smaller than in people whose postmeal blood sugar levels were lower.

On the positive side, keeping your blood sugar on an even keel can help you feel better and stay mentally sharp. People with diabetes who control their blood sugar well report better moods, less depression, and less fatigue than those who don't. Careful studies have found that the better they control their blood sugar, the better they are able to recall a paragraph after reading it and to remember words from a list.

In general, eating a good breakfast is the best way for anyone to improve mental functioning later in the day. Studies regularly show that eating breakfast improves mood, mental alertness, concentration, and memory. Eating the right breakfast, one that keeps blood sugar on an even keel until lunch, is likely to work even better.

From Magic Foods

 

• Blood Sugar
• Nutrition
• Healthy Habits

• Introducing the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load
• Measuring the effects of food on blood sugar.
• 
• The Seven Secrets of Magic Eating
• Jot down the secrets and post them on your fridge for a blood sugar friendly diet.
• 
• Master the Menu at Your Favorite Restaurants
• How to outsmart the menu and save your diet when dining out.
• 
• 13 Dietary Downfalls and Solution
• Learn how to stop sabotaging your efforts to control your blood sugar and
  lose weight.
• 
• Metabolic Syndrome: The Kitchen Sink of Conditions
• 85 percent of people with type 2 diabetes have metabolic syndrome.
• 
• More on Blood Sugar
•