Reduce Sugar to Protect Brain Health

Scientists have discovered that a high-sugar diet, when fed to fruit flies, diminishes the brain’s ability to clear debris and toxic proteins.  This can lead to inflammation, impaired brain cell healing, and brain cell death.  These problems in the brain are features of neurodegenerative disorders, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

High-sugar diets impair insulin signaling, and this impacts the brain when some brain cells become insulin resistant.  Healthy insulin signaling is important for normal cell metabolism.  This study demonstrated that a high-sugar diet disrupted the fruit fly brain from removing debris and toxins.  When this process is disrupted in human brains, what follows is a cascade of inflammation, brain cell death, and impaired brain cell regeneration.

Takeaway:  Because neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease feature the failure to clear debris and toxins from the brain, and high-sugar diets can cause the same malfunction, reducing sugar intake is likely to protect brain health.

Well-being is a journey, not a quick fix.

Source

Mroj Alassaf and Akhila Rajan, Diet-Induced Glial Insulin Resistance Impairs the Clearance of Neuronal Debris in Drosophila Brain, PLOS Biology, Nov. 7, 2023, Diet-induced glial insulin resistance impairs the clearance of neuronal debris in Drosophila brain | PLOS Biology.

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