Senior Moment? Maybe it's Your Blood Sugar!

Is the phrase "I'm having one of those senior moments" becoming an increasingly common utterance?

New research suggests it might be related to your sugar levels.

The new research, published in the December 2008 Annals of Neurology focused on a particular section of the hippocampus- an area of the brain associated with memory and learning. This section- the dentate gyrus- is typically affected by changes seen with aging.

"In this study, we were able to show the specific area of the brain that is impacted by rising blood sugar", said Scott Small, MD, the lead researcher on the study which was partly funded by the National Institute on Aging. Using special high-resolution brain imaging, Small and his team found that rising blood sugar was directly associated with decreased activity in the dentate gyrus.

The result: you forget where you put your keys!

The important point here is that the research strongly suggests that keeping blood sugar under control could be the key to preventing "senior moments" and lapses in memory, even in healthy individuals with no hint of diabetes!

"Our findings suggest that maintaining blood sugar levels, even in the absence of diabetes, could help maintain aspects of cognitive health", said Small.

Two of the most effective measures to manage blood sugar are and a controlled-carb diet!

Yet another reason to not eat high-carb, high-sugar foods.