Have you been told you have Type 2 Diabetes? The diagnosis has become quite common, affecting over 20 million people. Sometimes the thought that so many have a condition makes it seem less serious. After all, so many of those with Diabetes Type 2 are walking around, working, and living their normal lives. It can be easy to disregard how it negatively affects the body. Those who have the condition are at greater risk of heart attacks, blindness and even amputations due to poor blood flow. Diabetes also negatively affects the brain and mind.
Diabetes can cause difficulty with mental clarity because the higher glucose levels impede the circulatory system. In fact, the higher the glucose levels, the higher the risk becomes.
One of the risks with diabetes is narrowing of the blood vessels. This results in less blood flow, and greater risk of inflammation.
This affects all of the body’s organs – especially the brain. Being diagnosed with diabetes means that you may not have the same quality of blood flow, and blood flow control, as someone without the disease.
Your brain may not receive the optimal amount of blood flow. The result is a decline in cognitive skills and loss of the ability to function at its top level. When you’re busy with an important task, your brain sends the blood wherever it’s needed.
With Diabetes Type 2, whether you’re working on a physical or mental project, you may be at a serious disadvantage. Your brain may have difficulty directing increased blood flow to certain areas. Your ability to reason, and perform certain tasks may be impaired due to diminished blood flow.
The amount of blood flow that your brain is forced to perform without can be higher than 50%. Some studies have pegged the loss of blood flow to be as much as 65%. This decrease can cause you to struggle to make decisions. You may experience sudden lapses in memory and difficulty accomplishing everyday activities. You will likely experience more brain aging than people who don’t have diabetes.
Long term, diabetes can significantly impair your ability to perform thinking tasks, for example problem solving. It may also interfere with your brain’s ability for recall. The higher levels of glucose in the blood directly affect the brain – not just because of a lack of proper blood flow, but also because of inflammation.
The inflammation is just as damaging to your brain’s cells as the lack of proper blood flow. The tough side to this is that even if you watch your blood sugar levels, you can still experience cognitive and memory impairment.
It’s important that if you have diabetes, you take steps to prevent or improve problems with blood flow. Make sure that you eat well to help keep the inflammation down. Get plenty of exercise and sleep. If you work on your fitness, you can rid yourself of that Diabetes Type 2 diagnosis.
Thank you for the information and your interest. I have a great deal of work ahead of me. I now know the importance of blood flow in the brain and how circulation affects it and what restricts the blood flow. I don’t eat properly, I don’t exercise even though I am a member of Mike Arteaga, and I have bouts of eating candy. By Wednesday evening I hope to do some shopping and have a tentative exercise schedule made up. From now on ONLY sugar free candy. I now realize thanks to you that the remaining years of my life depend upon it. Thanks. Hope to hear from you soon.
Hi there, Mr. Bowen. Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment. Education is the key to improving our bodies and brains. It sounds like you have a plan. That’s a good first step. Keep it up. If you’re interested in how fit you are now check out my “Fit or Unfit” 5 day ecourse. You might also be interested in my “4 Week Fitness” plan.