Alright Dad, I’m just trying to look out for you when I say this, put down the gallon of ice cream that I know is in your lap. Yeah I know you work real hard and have never been at risk for being over weight, but this is about your memory. I learned in class this week that there may be a link between calories you eat and Alzheimer’s Disease.
There have been a few studies that show how restricting your calories can partially block a pathway in the brain called Insulin Growth Factor 1 (IGF1). When we eat a lot of food and take in more calories than we can burn, this activates insulin in the body so that we can store some of these calories to use later. But insulin not only stores these calories for later use, it can also activate this pathway that causes aging and Alzheimer’s. Alright, so what if we could just block some of this insulin then we can prevent Alzheimer’s completely?
That would seem like common sense but in actuality, it never works like that. Our brains and bodies have such delicate balances of everything. We need some amount of insulin to store our calories for energy, but we can’t have too much or it may cause cancer? Some scientists tried to study more about blocking insulin in the brain through studying mice. They completely shut off insulin in the brain, and found that it didn’t increase the lifespan of the mice at all, it actually decreased the life span.
So what’s the moral of the story? There may be a link in between food and the brain so eat healthy and in moderation. It isn’t just about cholesterol, heart disease and obesity anymore. It’s about your memory.
Dear Dad, Remember me? Links between Alzheimer's and food
