Contents:
- Medical Video: Type 2 Diabetes | Nucleus Health
- What is type 3 diabetes?
- Associations with type 3 diabetes with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- Alzheimer's disease as a result of type 3 diabetes
- Tips to prevent Alzheimer's in diabetics
Medical Video: Type 2 Diabetes | Nucleus Health
During this time we are more familiar with the term type 1 diabetes that attacks children, and type 2 diabetes that attacks adults. But research in the past few years has shown that abnormalities in the body's insulin hormones due to diabetes also affect the brain and have different mechanisms for diabetes in general, so some health experts have begun to popularize the term type 3 diabetes to increase awareness among the general public about the causes and dangers.
What is type 3 diabetes?
Diabetes is a disorder of blood sugar metabolism which is characterized by the body's inability to use or produce enough insulin. This then causes an increase in blood glucose levels in the blood (hyperglycemia) which slowly damages various organs of the body through the bloodstream.
Unlike type 1 and type 2 diabetes, type 3 diabetes is not related to blood sugar levels. Type 3 diabetes is actually caused by deficiency of insulin levels leading to the brain of the brain. The lack of insulin levels in the brain can reduce the work and regeneration of brain cells, which triggers Alzheimer's disease.
Associations with type 3 diabetes with type 1 and type 2 diabetes
Diseases that attack brain cells such as Alzheimer's run very slowly but can start when someone is young, and their development is influenced by lifestyle. The conditions of metabolic syndrome such as diabetes and obesity are the main causes of the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
A study showed the risk of Alzheimer's and vascular dementia can be many times higher in diabetics compared to healthy individuals, but the relationship between them is complex. Alzheimer's in diabetics may be caused by insulin resistance and high levels of sugar in the blood, causing damage to the body - including the work and regeneration functions of brain cells.
However, there is another mechanism that explains that Alzheimer's can occur on its own without following diabetes. But both are triggered by similar risk factors, namely high carbohydrate and glucose consumption patterns, and too little fat which is actually needed for brain health. Moreover the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes does not affect brain insulin levels so it does not have a positive impact on the management of Alzheimer's. Further research is still needed to understand the mechanism for the conditions of type 1 and type 2 diabetes that trigger Alzheimer's.
Alzheimer's disease as a result of type 3 diabetes
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that occurs slowly due to reduced number of healthy brain cells. Brain cell damage is characterized by a decrease in the ability to think and remember. Even at an advanced stage, a person can lose speech and language, disorientation, loss of motivation, experience drastic mood changes, and behavioral disorders. The brains of people with Alzheimer's have a characteristic that is having a smaller period and area than the normal brain due to brain cell death.
One of the causes of brain cell death is because the brain does not get enough glucose. The brain is the body part that requires the most portion of blood sugar. And the brain is very dependent on the hormone insulin to absorb glucose. But when the brain does not have enough insulin, the glucose intake to the brain will decrease. As a result the distribution of glucose to the brain is not evenly distributed and brain cells that do not get glucose will experience death and trigger the development of Alzheimer's.
Tips to prevent Alzheimer's in diabetics
The condition of diabetes requires specific lifestyle changes so that blood sugar levels are always controlled, but at the same time proper intake is also needed to maintain brain health. Here are some things that are done to balance blood sugar levels and brain health, especially in diabetics:
- Balancing blood sugar levels - eat fresh (whole) food and have a low glycemic index. This can be achieved by reducing calories from glucose and carbohydrates from processed foods, alcohol and sugar. Then replace calories from high protein intake patterns such as those from beans, white and red meat and eggs to taste.
- Eat healthy fats - Omega-3 fatty acids are very necessary for brain health and tend to be safe for diabetics, especially those sourced from fish, coconut oil and olives, eggs and nuts and seeds.
- Exercise regularly - necessary to balance calorie intake and help use glucose more effectively and physical activity can slow down the decline in brain cognitive function.
- Control stress - Chronic stress adversely affects the health of the body and brain and stress control is needed to maintain blood sugar levels and prevent the development of brain damage.
- Enough sleep time - Blood sugar levels tend to increase when a person lacks sleep, so that adequate sleep time is needed to overcome them. In addition, quality sleep time is an important moment for brain cells to regenerate optimally and protect brain cells from damage.
