Omega 3's and Bigger Brain

I mentioned before that higher blood sugar levels (on the high end of "normal")were associated with shrinkage of memory centers in the brain (hippocampus), and that Diabetes doubles the risk of Alzheimer's.  This study showed a connection between higher omega 3's in the blood (EPA and DHA), and larger brain volumes specifically in the hippocampus.  Thus omega 3's may prevent shrinkage of the brain.  With Alzheimer's the brain shrinks (atrophy),especially the hippocampus, even before symptoms occur.             

http://www.neurology.org/content/82/5/435

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery

URL:  www.functionalneuro.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DrCaffery

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Principle #2 for Good Glycemic Control

Principle #1 Carbohydrate tolerance

Principle #2 Exercise

Exercise is an important part of maintaining healthy blood sugar. While any exercise is better than none, resistance exercise is typically the best for blood sugar.  If no restrictions are present, high intensity interval training can a very effective form of resistance exercise.   While exercise is beneficial for blood sugar, be careful that exercise is not overdone as that can disrupt blood sugar (I will discuss this in our next principle).  Some of the most common signs that you are overdoing exercise are fatigue, and poor quality sleep. Stay tuned for five more balancing blood sugar principles.

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery
URL:  www.functionalneuro.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DrCaffery

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional. 

Principle #1 for Good Glycemic Control

Principle #1 Carbohydrate tolerance

How many carbs can I eat?  Atkins?  The Zone?  Ornish?  How many carbohydrates one can tolerate is an individual thing known as carbohydrate tolerance.  The first principle in balancing blood sugar is to stay below one's carbohydrate tolerance.  Carbohydrate tolerance is defined as the amount of carbohydrates/sugar the body can optimally process.  This is how much carbohydrate/sugar that can get into the cells without having excess in the blood stream.  When carbohydrate tolerance is exceeded then the most common symptoms are fatigue and sweet/carbohydrate cravings.  In some individuals post meal fatigue is prominent, in others it can be cravings for sugar or starch.  If symptoms cannot be appreciated (or correlation needs to be made) then post meal glucose measurements can be checked.  This can be done with a glucose meter.  The One Touch Ultra Mini is an accurate meter.  2-4 hour post meal glucose measurements of 85-100 are considered optimal.  Measurements above 100 are typically associated with fatigue and/or sweet/carb cravings, and would be considered exceeding one’s carbohydrate tolerance.  While there are many contributors to blood sugar disruption, overconsumption of carbohydrates and sugar is probably the single biggest contributor.  Stay tuned and I will discuss the other contributors to disrupted blood sugar.      

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery

URL:  www.functionalneuro.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DrCaffery

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional. 

Diabetes What?

Type I is usually diagnosed in children and young adults, previously known as Insulin Dependent Diabetes, or Juvenile Onset Diabetes.  This is as a result of autoimmunity (attacking one’s self) directed against the pancreas creating insulin deficiency.  This creates high blood sugar, as one of insulin’s jobs is to get blood sugar into the cells.  There are major associations between Type I Diabetes and gluten sensitivity, dairy sensitivity, and intestinal permeability (leaky gut). 

Type II is usually diagnosed in adults, previously known as Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes or Adult-Onset Diabetes.  This was previously thought to be found only in obese adults, although it does also occur in normal bodyweight individuals.  Type II Diabetes is due to insulin resistance (the cells aren’t sensitive to insulin).  Insulin resistance occurs due to insulin excess, and the cells stop listening to insulin.  This also creates high blood sugar.  Type II Diabetes is influenced by a number of lifestyle factors which I will be discussing at length in upcoming posts. 

Type 1.5 is also known as Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults (LADA) or Double Diabetes.  This is a combination of Type II Diabetes (insulin resistance) and Type I Diabetes (autoimmunity).  This is usually diagnosed as Type II Diabetes.  It is estimated that 20% of individuals diagnosed with non obese Type II actually have Type 1.5 Diabetes.    

Type III is also known as Brain Diabetes.  Brain Diabetes has to do with excess insulin (insulin resistance) and blood sugar’s negative effects on the brain.  This is thought to be one of the major drivers of Alzheimer’s.  

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery
URL:  www.functionalneuro.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DrCaffery

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Balancing Blood Sugar

Like I mentioned in my previous post, glucose ranges within normal limits can still be problematic.  The last research article I reported on called for a re-evaluation of what is considered normal glucose levels.  Many times individuals can have glucose measurements or HA1c (glucose average over 3-4 months) measurements that are within normal limits, but not optimal thus promoting the development of disease or symptomatology.  A funny cartoon that illustrates this concept is below.  Problems are often ignored until they become severe enough to be classified as end stage disease.    

 

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery
URL:  www.functionalneuro.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DrCaffery

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

High Blood Sugar and Brain Shrinkage

While we already know that diabetes doubles Alzheimer's risk, and has been called Type III Diabetes by some researchers.  This study shows that blood sugar measurements that were within the normal limits, but on the higher side  of "normal" were associated with atrophy (shrinkage) of the hippocampus (memory centers involved with Alzheimer's).  This research article calls for a re-evaluation of what is considered to be normal glucose levels.  In the future I will be discussing what constitutes optimal blood sugar measurements, and what factors influence blood sugar.      

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3762736/

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery
URL:  www.functionalneuro.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DrCaffery

Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.

Asymmetry in Brain Function and Depression

Previous research has suggested that depression is due to decreased activity in the frontal cortex.  Some research has suggested that a decrease in activity of the left frontal cortex is most likely to produce a depressed mood.  A study published in Neuroscience showed that depressed patients had half the vestibular function of the right side compared to the left, and the controls did not show significant asymmetries.    

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17074443/rel=nofollow

So what does this mean?  The right vestibular system (inner ear and the brain circuits associated with it) is the major driver of left frontal brain activity.  If one does not have enough right vestibular activity then it will lead to a decline in left brain activity.  This is called diaschiasis, and may be at the root of depression in some individuals. The good news is, the brain is plastic.  This means the brain is able to adapt, change, rewire and improve its function with the correct stimulation (mode, frequency, intensity, and duration).  This is the basis of functional neurology.  Check out the video on functional neurology at the link below.

http://www.functionalneuro.com/functionalneurology.html

Yours in health, Dr. Chris Caffery
www.functionalneuro.com 


Disclaimer:  The contents of this site are for educational purposes only.  Nothing here should be construed as medical advice.  Nothing here is a substitute for actual medical care.  Consult a qualified healthcare professional.