Americans are possibly the highest consumers of sugar, averaging roughly 19 teaspoons (approx. 80 grams) of sugar on a daily basis, which comes out to roughly 66 lbs a year.
Sugar is known to be linked to several ailments, predominantly: diabetes, blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, cancer, depression, decaying of teeth and the biggest killer of them all (has officially surprised smoking), obesity.
In new breakthrough study, researchers from the University of Bath and King's College (England) discovered that there is a direct molecular and cellular link between sugar and our brain.
It was well known that sugar had a huge effect on our brans due to its damaging effects on the proteins in our brain cells - known as glycation. Glycation occurs when a sugar molecule bonds to a protein which has a detrimental and hindering effect on the function of our protein expression. To give an example of this, think of when you place bread in a toaster. The heat activates the sugar molecules and binds them to the protein molecules, which results in the browning. Meat is another example. When grilling meet, the process of the meat cooking and browning is known as glycation, which is known to produce acrylamide (purported to be not so healthy) -out of the scope of this article.
The researchers found that in the early stages of Alzheimer's, glycation has a damaging effect on an enzyme called macrophage migration inhibitor factor (MIF), which has been proven to be crucial to preventing the onset of Alzheimer's in healthy brains. This enzyme is known to stop the buildup of plaque (as it is referred to in the medical field), which is basically an abnormal buildup of these 'glycated' proteins (sugar molecules binding to protein molecules - kind of a mutation if you will).
Therefore, it has been agreed upon that when this enzyme (like most enzymes in our body) cannot function properly due to the presence of this glycation, these "mutated" proteins buildup in the brain, which is referred to as plaque or beta-amyloids (medical jargon). "And no i am not a physician of any kind, just like to read."
This is why it has been found that those that are diabetic or obese are more prone to Alzheimer's. The reason for this is the key hormone insulin, which is used to regulate the blood sugar level in our blood. Those that are insulin resistant (meaning that the insulin is not able to reduce the blood sugar, or that it takes more insulin to do the job of someone who is healthy and requires less insulin, typical of Type 2 diabetes), tend to carry more blood sugar in their system at all times, which creates havoc on the body over the long term and makes them more susceptible to glycation, which leads to numerous diseases as mentioned above.
Well i hope this was concise enough and not too technical. If you fell there is anything I left out or something you would like to add, please feel free.
Happy reading and be well. Cheers