All too often, older adults are stricken by a disease that is largely preventable. Various forms of heart disease and even the flu, when receiving the proper vaccination, can be avoided. The same goes for diabetes. By ways of diet and exercise, type 2 diabetes does not have to be an inevitable result of aging.

In fact as we age, more and more research shows how crucial it is for us to avoid this metabolic disease due to its connection with another one: Dementia. Diabetes affects the production of insulin and the effectiveness of the insulin produced. This important hormone helps us absorb glucose in our blood. If it cannot properly absorb glucose our blood sugar drops severely. Since our brain uses glucose and other sugars for cognitive activity, a major drop in our levels can cause cognitive impairment and a prolonged drop in our blood sugar levels can actually cause neural damage. Therefore, it’s important to always monitor our diet, our weight, and our blood sugar levels.

Know Your Carbohydrates

In order to properly monitor your blood sugar levels, it’s crucial to understand the different chemicals and proteins that interact with your body that determine our blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are the main source for elevating our blood sugar. However, there are three different types of carbohydrates, and they’re all good for you in moderation. The three types are: Sugar, starch, and fiber.

Sugar

Sugar is the simplest form of carbohydrates. There’s nothing wrong with eating a little bit of it here and there. It provides with quick bursts of energy when we need it. However, a lot of food products these days oversaturate their foods with simple sugars. It’s quickly absorbed within the intestine and produces a lot of insulin quickly. Eating too much of this simple sugars can be harmful. Obviously it greatly increases our blood sugar content, which leads to more dire complications, but it can come in handy if you’re experiencing low blood sugar.

Recognize the Symptoms

Some symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) include dizziness, tiredness, shaking, sweating, and increased heartbeat. These symptoms can come on quickly and it can be quite frightening. However, if you know what to do in these situations, you can quickly reduce your stress and alleviate any anxiety that comes with a low blood sugar attack. As stated previously, the right amount of sugar can be quite helpful when dealing with hypoglycemia.

It’s best to ingest 15 to 20 grams of sugar to prevent any further symptoms. You may even have small glucose packets just in case something like this happens. Make sure you read the package to take the proper amount. Raisins are also a good alternative in order for your body to receive more sugar. You can even drink 8 ounces of non-fat milk to help restore your blood sugar levels. By knowing what to do in times of an emergency, you can prevent any further damage.

Prevention is Best

The connection between diabetes and dementia resides in low blood sugar. In order to prevent any form of cognitive damage from diabetes related complications, make sure you’re exercising consistently, watching your diet, and monitoring your blood sugar levels. Type 2 diabetes is completely preventable and not a normal part of aging. You can eliminate the link between dementia and diabetes two by eliminating your chances of diabetes through your healthy lifestyle choices.

Unfortunately, you cannot completely eliminate your chances of getting dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Everyone is at risk for developing some form of dementia based on their genes and other predisposed conditions. But by maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle we can reduce our chances and increase our quality of life as we get older!