alzheimer's and insulin

[TomF]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7866022.stm

Some are calling Alzheimer's "brain diabetes." Seems that insulin works on neurons too, and large amounts may cause troubles. Which is suggesting that Alzheimer's, like type II diabetes, has a "lifestyle" component to how it starts ... and how it can be controlled.

Dad died from Alzheimer's, and while he was far from an obvious type II diabetes guy (never more than 10-15 pounds overweight), he was very sensitive all his life to low blood sugar. Often a precursor of type-II. Dad ate a fairly good diet, but didn't pay much attention to avoiding foods with a high glycemic index ... the simple starches etc. that trigger swift insulin responses.

I've had the same blood sugar sensitivity. If I ever needed prompting to get my own diet turned away from simple starches, this is it.

[spirit]

There are other sides to this puzzle.

A number of respected scientists have thought for decades that most degenerative brain diseases... including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's... may be dependent on, or even caused by, age-related losses of the function of mitochondria. These organelles within cells are responsible for making the ATP that provides energy to cells, including neurons. A readable discussion of this is given in the February 28 issue of Science News.

Some of these scientists hypothesize further that diabetes can be caused by mitochondrial dysfunction.

Whatever the cause of Alzheimer's disease, it is very clear that anything (including diabetes) that damages the brain can hasten or contribute to the neuronal losses that cause the symptoms of this disease, and anything that preserves or improves brain function in general will diminish the symptoms.

[Popeye]

my guess is many nasties , toxins are fat soluble