NO SUGAR CHALLENGE: Sugar on the Brain, Part 2

SUGAR ON THE BRAIN, Part 2

As I mentioned in yesterday's post (Sugar on the Brain, Part 1),
This topic hits really hits home for me.  

It's one of the reasons I am so passionate about sharing this information with you and why I started this challenge.  And now, as we are approaching our halfway mark, I'll tell you why.

My mom suffers from severe dementia/Alzheimer's.
They're not sure which, and honestly, it doesn't matter.
The symptoms of either are devastating.
When she was diagnosed, I scoured nutrition and medical journals 
trying to find anything and everything which might help support 
brain health in an attempt to least slow down the progression of this brutal disease.

I also wanted to learn why my mom developed memory issues in the first place.  Why did this happen to my beautiful, kind and generous mother?
Why her?
What I found during my research is that Alzheimer's is considered
Type 3 Diabetes.  That hit me hard & also made perfect sense to me. While I can not conclude that sugar consumption was the reason 
my mom now suffers from severe memory loss, 
what I can tell you is ---it absolutely, positively contributed.

My mom has had a sweet tooth from as far back as I could remember. 

Donuts, pastry... you name it, she loved it. 
And that goes for bread & rolls too.
(Those simple carbohydrates break down into sugar very quickly)

She rarely remembers my name today, 
but once and a while my mom will suggest we go out for ice cream.
It was one of my mom and dad's (daily) guilty pleasures 
and just another sign of how strong of a hold sugar has on her brain. 

Brain scans show sugar targets the same area as cocaine making it highly addictive.  

Sugar is also an inflammatory food. 

Daily sugar creates chronic inflammation. 
And chronic inflammation greatly contributes to many diseases in the body including those which directly affect the brain such as depression, anxiety, dementia and Alzheimer's. 


Sugar is toxic to your brain.  
There is no way around that. 

There!   That should be enough to make you hate the stuff!
FYI:
In case you are interested, check out my posts on The War For Rose.My husband Doug & I made the commitment to help my dad care for my mom in October.  We'll be updating the progress we're making as we combat her severe dementia/Alzheimer's.  (And yes, we're making progress!)

Now for your Healthy Recipe of the Day!

Be well, my friends!
~Anne