The Number 1 Way to Stave Off Cognitive Dysfunction

Losing our minds is the Number 1 fear of aging baby boomers. The simple truth is decreasing cognitive function is a very real threat as we age – today more than ever before.  

Alzheimer’s is the fastest growing disease of our time. The good news is that the earlier you address memory loss and implement repair, the greater your chance for recovery and long-term brain health.

Reclaim Your Brain

In my new book, Radical Longevity, I devote an entire chapter to reclaiming your brain by discovering the medications that can masquerade as dementia, which nutrients are essential for brain health and the undeniable connection between your blood sugar and your brain.

“Is Alzheimer’s Disease Type 3 Diabetes?”

My research led me to ask this astonishing question as I unearthed how the brain responds to insulin for such basic tasks as memory and learning. When you eat a meal or snack high in sugar and refined carbs, your blood sugar spikes quickly. This stimulates the release of insulin, which is good because it escorts that sugar out of the blood and into the cells, where it can be burned for fuel. But high insulin causes the sugar to be taken into the cells more quickly, which causes hypoglycemia, or a sugar low. Then you crave sugar to regain balance and a vicious cycle takes over, causing insulin resistance.

Your brain can become resistant to insulin as well. Type 3 diabetes develops when the neurons in your brain become deficient in insulin because they are unable to utilize it in any way. The key to getting off the blood sugar roller coaster is found in your diet with the proper amounts of protein, healthy fats, and fiber. Each of these slows gastric emptying, which slows the speed of sugar in your diet turning into sugar in your blood. 

The Thiamine Connection – Benfotiamine To The Rescue!

Startling new research reports that low blood sugar levels in the brain correspond to low vitamin B1 (thiamine) tissue levels. Thiamine not only lowers high blood sugar that leads to insulin resistance in the brain, but also raises the low blood sugar inside your brain cells that lead to memory loss. 

Not only does vitamin B1 control blood sugar levels, it delivers oxygen to the brain. Although the brain comprises only 2% of the body’s total weight, it uses 20% of the body’s oxygen. 

Supplementing with benfotiamine, a fat-soluble form of thiamine is one of the keys to better brain health and balanced blood sugar. I believe that proper levels of bioavailable vitamin B1 that can cross the blood-brain barrier are crucial for vibrant health and staving off cognitive dysfunction.

The eagerly anticipated grilling season is approaching, and you need to learn the key to avoiding AGEs in your favorite BBQ recipes. Marinating your meats and even any veggies or fruits that you plan to grill, can prevent AGEs formation by as much as 50%! You’ll want to keep my delicious marinade recipes on hand this summer, like the Zesty Longevity Rosemary Marinade on page 154 or Island Breezes marinade on page 155.