Sleep and Obesity - Blood Sugar and Memory

Two recent items have come across my plastic surgery desk in Fort Myers,  

First, scientists studying sleep habits found that people who don’t sleep much tend to be overweight.  Apparently, they found that when you are deprived of sleep, changes occur in your brain that cause you to crave high calorie foods.  Less sleep means those chocolate bars and potato chips look even better.  So maybe beauty rest is helpful after all.

Second, if your body has difficulty maintaining normal blood sugar levels you could have diabetes. We know that long term uncontrolled diabetes can lead to a multitude of problems.  Now, we come to find out it can predispose one to dementia.  Researchers tracked more than 2,000 older adults for seven years and found that those who had high glucose levels – but not diabetes – were nearly 20% more likely to develop dementia. 

Among diabetics, those with the highest glucose levels were 40% more likely to develop Alzheimers.  We know high glucose can cause inflammation to the small vessels in the brain.  I guess we need to curb out sweet tooth!

Short Arms – Long Legs - Who Cares?

We truly do live in an information age. Researchers are gathering thousands and thousands of pages of data on just about anything.

Now, this interesting study shows how limb length may be correlated with Alzheimer’s.

It has been believed that the portion of the brain most impacted by Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) develops simultaneously when the limbs are growing most rapidly.

This study, done at Tufts University, explored the relationship between the length of arms and legs with the risk of dementia.

The researchers studied 2798 men and women. Conclusion: the researchers found that the risk of AD and dementia decreased as knee height and arm span increased. This finding may show the importance of nutrition in early childhood to maximize limb length.

Get out the protein, Mom.