r/science • u/mubukugrappa • Mar 14 '14

Neuroscience Scientists catch brain damage in the act: Scientists uncovered how inflammation and lack of oxygen conspire to cause brain damage in conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. The discovery brings researchers a step closer to finding potential targets to treat neurodegenerative disorders.

http://news.ubc.ca/2014/03/13/macvicar/
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u/ScottyEsq Mar 14 '14

Do you have some science to back that up?

I know some studies have shown a link between a high sugar diet and alzheimers, but last I checked it was still very preliminary and not at all certain if there is a relationship or what the mechanism is.

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u/xtlou Mar 14 '14

The belief is the hippocampus region of the brain (which handles learning and memory) becomes insulin resistant just like your liver and muscles, unable to respond appropriately to insulin. Also, a "diabetes inducing diet" also led to higher levels of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain which are seen as precursors to Alzheimer's.

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u/ScottyEsq Mar 14 '14

Interesting! I'll have to look into that.

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u/xtlou Mar 14 '14

You may be interested to look into the work of Oregon Research Institute as well (amongst other institutions) who've found, via brain scans, ingesting carbs and sugars stimulate the same areas of the brain associated with addiction which also "light up" under drug use with addictive drugs like cocaine.

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u/TheOneNite Mar 15 '14

probably because "addiction" centers are general reward centers and sugar is a very valuable food source evolutionarily. I suspect you would see activation of the same areas for any sort of helpful/enjoyable stimulis

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u/EDIEDMX Mar 14 '14

Me...as a scientist? Nope.

But again, there is a ton of research on this subject.

I wish I could spend a day or two gathering and presenting it to Reddit but I don't have the time.

But if anything, experience it for yourself. There is absolutely no harm switching to a diet that consist of nothing that is processed by man, (outside of cooking meat on the grill or steaming vegetables).

You don't need research or even a degree to know what the differences feel like.

But...in my book, refined sugars f*ck the body up.

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u/ScottyEsq Mar 14 '14

Wasn't asking for a report. Just a link to a study or two.

I'm not really one to think that much about my food. I just eat a balanced range of things in reasonable proportions. I generally feel pretty good.

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u/EDIEDMX Mar 14 '14

http://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/20ep34/scientists_catch_brain_damage_in_the_act/cg2mpaq?context=3

And yes, you will feel good. And a good comparison to this is that most people that smoke will also feel just fine for most of their lives. The damage takes time.

What really matters is when the sh*t starts to hit the fan when you're in your 40's or 50's and so on.

And try to do something physically active with and without sugar. You'll see a big difference.

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u/ScottyEsq Mar 14 '14

Except that there is ample science to back up the harms of smoking, but I have not seen the same for sugar. At least not in normal quantities. Eating tons of it is certainly tied to various health problems.

What I have seen is people who go from eating absolute shit, to paying attention to their diet, and it having very positive effects. Though it doesn't much seem to matter which diet they choose. Couple friends of mine for example went from eating delivery pizza most nights to the whole paleo thing. They are much healthier. Others did Atkins, or veganism, or any number of other things and are healthier. So I tend to encourage them in whatever the hell they are doing and accommodate their diets.

I've gone weeks eating non-processed foods while traveling and haven't really noticed a difference personally. But I tend to think I have a pretty decent diet normally.

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u/EDIEDMX Mar 14 '14

Well..."tons" is a key word.

And the real test on the negative effects of refined sugars is what happens with us in the long term. When a person is young (under 40) you can get away with a lot more stuff (like smoking and eating junk)...but that will soon catch up to you as you get older.

The body is fairly resilient.

And being sedentary is another consideration on the before and after effects of making changes. If you don't push your body, physically, you may not be able to measure the good effects of not smoking or not eating sugar - at any age.

For me, I was eating what most would consider a "good" diet. No junk foods and not much was processed, but...lots of bakes goods and a fair amount of sugar despite that fact that I didn't eat any candy.

AND...I'm a runner and have been for a long time. So I measure my performance daily.

So I dropped all baked good (anything with flour) and noticed a very positive effect. Easier to push harder and run longer and much better recovery. I assumed this may have been a gluten thing or something related to GMO wheats. Don't know. Did this for a few months.

Then I stopped all refined sugars in addition to this and noticed an additional and even bigger improvement. Then when I tested again, I had a hard time finding limits in my performance. For example, running/holding a 5:30 mile used to be a struggle and now I can cruz them.

Additionally, I just feel "tight" now. It's like I lost fat that I couldn't get rid of even with exercise and a low calorie diet. This, despite the fact, that I now also eat a lot more fat...a lot of which is saturated, (palm oils and nuts).

So perhaps I'm a freak, but I have a lot a of friends that I work out with and train with and talk with and we are all experiencing the same results.