Did you know that your brain uses more energy than any other organ in your body?
This is because your brain cells cannot store energy; they need a continuous supply of fuel from your bloodstream to your cells, to function properly.
Your mental clarity and ability to think, learn, recall information, and make good decisions is strongly associated with your glucose levels. (And here you thought it was just about having a good night’s sleep and your morning coffee…)
Glucose, meaning ‘sweet’ in Greek, is your body’s and brain’s primary fuel. It is a type of sugar you get from the foods you eat, which your body uses for energy.
As glucose travels through your bloodstream to your cells, it is called blood sugar or blood glucose. An important hormone called insulin (which is used to communicate and perform tasks) takes glucose from your blood and gives it to your cells for energy and storage.
This sounds like a perfect system, right? Beware. It can easily get out of balance and wreak havoc on your physical, mental, emotional, and functional health.
WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
How do you feel after eating too many sweets, or what have you noticed in your children’s behaviour after they have indulged in too much candy?
Refined sugary treats are carbs that are broken down fast and absorbed quickly into your body and blood stream causing insulin spikes and inflammation.
Ingesting too much sugar, or the wrong kind of sweets, leads to elevated glucose in your bloodstream and throws your system out of balance. This results in alerting an immune response and causing inflammation – which means brain cells are under siege and dying.
This is harmful to your brain and results in issues such as slower cognitive functioning, deficits in memory and attention, difficulty learning, impaired self control, decrease in the formation of brain neurons as well as a foggy, dull, and slow feeling.
Over time this can lead to serious physical and mental health issues and breakdown, degeneration, illness, and disease…
SUGAR IS LIKE A DRUG
You are probably already aware: sugar has a drug-like effect in the reward center of the brain and leaves you wanting more.
To maximize our survival as a species, we have an innate brain system that makes us like sweet foods since they are a great source of energy to fuel our bodies and keep us alive. When you eat sweet foods, your brain’s reward system, called the mesolimbic dopamine system, gets activated.
In early humans, this stimulus encouraged them to locate and ingest calorie-rich foods, which aided survival when food was scarce. Unfortunately, in modern day society our lifestyle is much different. We now have an over consumption of glucose and access to unhealthy, processed, and refined versions of what our ancestors would have found out in the wild.
HOW SUGAR IMPACTS LEARNING:
Even a single instance of elevated glucose in your bloodstream can result in:
- Slower cognitive functions
- Poor memory and attention
- Diminished motor speed
- Difficulty processing emotion
- Lower test scores
Additional research shows that diets high in sugar reduce the production of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a brain chemical essential for new memory formation and learning.
USEFUL TIPS:
- REPLACE: You can satisfy your sweet tooth with fresh fruit in place of refined sugars. Fresh fruit provides the satisfying sweetness of sugary treats with the bonus of fiber, antioxidants, and phytonutrients.
- MOVE: Elevate your energy levels by getting more daily movement. We often snack on sugary treats to increase our energy supply. However, you may not actually be hungry or need more calories – you just need to better circulation of the nutrients already in your system.
- HYDRATE: Get hydro-powered by drinking more water on a consistent daily basis. Often people will mistake thirst for hunger.
- SUPPLEMENT: While macro-nutrients are a vital part of our everyday diet, we also require micro-nutrients to ensure we convert our food sources into energy and information. By supplementing with a plant-based, essential nutrient program, you will reduce your overall cravings, including sugar.
- BOOST: Focus on boosting other “Happy Brain” chemicals instead of just relying on Dopamine to elevate your mood. By placing attention on your social life and making stronger connections with people, your Oxytocin will elevate. By investing into your skill sets and achievements, your Serotonin will be activated. With a good work out or deep belly laugh, you will get a dose of Endorphins.
Plus, research is showing that inflammatory damage from sugar may not be permanent. By following a low glucose diet, and healthy lifestyle approaches, much can be reversed. This is why so many people are experiencing success in managing serious health issues such as Type 2 Diabetes through healthy dietary and lifestyle choices.
Cleary, you are in the driver’s seat of your life journey! Are you going to stay stuck in “Candy Land” or pursue the destination of “Healthy, Active Aging?” The choice is yours.
To your Fit Brain & Fit Life,
Jill