Impact of Glucose on Brain Health

Keeping glucose levels steady can improve brain health and prevent cognitive decline as people age.

### Glucose and Brain Health: The Impact of Diet on Cognitive Function and Mental Health
* 🧠 Glucose spikes can lead to brain fog by **slowing down the speed of information between neurons**, as shown in a study on rats.
* 😡 A study on married couples found that **low glucose levels were associated with greater irritability**, with participants putting **more pins in voodoo dolls representing their partners**.
* 🧠 Glucose spikes have been linked to mental health issues, with a study showing a **strong connection between insulin resistance and the development of major depression**.
* 🧠 High glucose levels in midlife have been associated with a **14.5% higher risk** of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life, as shown in a **38-year study**.
* 🥦 Simple dietary changes can help stabilize glucose levels and improve brain health, such as **having a savory breakfast**, **starting meals with vegetables**, **avoiding sugar on an empty stomach**, and **moving after eating**.
* "The brain is still a very mysterious organ. It's not like we have it all figured out. We don't really know **how it works completely yet**, but science is advancing and showing us **some really interesting things**."

the objective here is to make sure that as we age and as we go on in our lives, our brains get healthier, get better instead of getting sicker and sicker, which is generally what happens if we're not conscious of what we should be doing to protect [Music]. Hello angels and welcome to the Glucose Goddess Show. I'm Justin Chusp, a biochemist obsessed with helping you understand your body, your brain, your food, so that you can feel your absolute best and thrive and live the life that you want to live because that's what we all want. In this episode, we're going to discuss the brain, all things brain: brain fog, personality, irritability, mood swings, mental health, and long-term Alzheimer's disease. And this topic of the brain is super dear to my heart because the reason I even got into health and glucose in the first place is because my brain was broken for a long time. I suffered from a lot of mental

health issues in my early 20s: depression, anxiety, dissociation, panic attacks. Uh, it was, it was super rough. And while I was going through that phase, I realized that I didn't know very well how my brain functioned. And, uh, the brain is still a very mysterious organ. It's not like we have it all figured out. We don't really know how it works completely yet, but science is advancing and showing us some really interesting things. And you might not know, but actually the way that you eat, how you're eating, what you're eating has a much bigger impact on your brain than you might think. And that, in turn, has a huge impact on how you feel on a daily basis and on who you are as a human being. So, for my part, mental health was my primary issue, and it took me years to figure out how to start improving it until I discovered the world of glucose. And I realized that when I was having

a lot of glucose spikes on a daily basis. That was 
making my mental health worse, that was triggering   episodes of dissociation, that was increasing my 
anxiety, my depression, etc. And so when I fixed my   food and stabilized my glucose levels, that was 
the beginning of healing for me, and it started   all from the brain. So today, I'm going to tell 
you a bit more about the relationship between   food, glucose, and different brain symptoms, and 
then we're going to cover some easy tips that   you can start applying today to help your brain 
be in optimal health, because I think the objective   here is to make sure that as we age and as we 
go on in our lives, our brains get healthier, get   better instead of getting sicker and sicker, which 
is generally what happens if we're not conscious   of what we should be doing to protect them. So 
let's get started. The first topic I want to cover   is brain fog. Now, if you've never experienced 
brain fog, I used to have it so, so, so, so much.

it is kind of like if somebody had replaced your 
brain with a bunch of cotton. You feel a little bit underwater, your vision is not completely clear. 
You're feeling a bit removed from what's going on, your memory is kind of messed up. You're having 
a hard time just focusing and doing anything. So brain fog is just a sort of abstract term for 
this, these symptoms of feeling like your brain is not working the way that it should be working, 
and some people have it every single day. Some people have it 24/7, for others it can come and 
go. You might have one hour or two hours of brain fog here and there. For a long time, we had no idea 
what brain fog actually was, but now fascinating science is starting to shed some light on this 
very interesting topic. And I want to mention two scientific studies that are really interesting 
in this domain. The first one is called Effects of differences in postprandial glycemia on cognitive 
functions in healthy middle-aged subjects. Uh, this

one showed us that what we eat in the morning 
impacts our cognitive performance, our memory, how well our brain works, and whether or not we have 
brain fog. So the scientists found that if you had a breakfast that led to a big glucose spike, your 
memory, attention, cognitive tests were worse. If you had a breakfast that kept your glucose 
level steady, your brain was functioning better. So that was already pretty interesting. Then a second 
one, second study that's really cool. This one is called the mechanisms of glycemic variability 
accelerate diabetic Central neuropathy and diabetic peripheral neuropathy in diabetic rats. So 
this was a study done in rats, but what they found was that when the rats were fed in a way that 
created lots of glucose spikes over and over again, the speed of information going from brain 
cell to brain cell, so your neurons, the speed of information between the neurons slowed down. So as 
the rats were experiencing lots of glucose spikes, their brain was literally working more slowly, 
the information passing through was going way

more slowly, and this speed of information between 
neurons is called the nerve conduction velocity, and if you have low nerve conduction velocity, you 
will feel it. Also, as a human being, your memory   will not be as good. You won't be able to perform 
as well. You might feel a little bit fuzzy in there, which sounds a lot like brain fog. So, this study 
gave us a clue about the fact that glucose spikes were creating this state in the brain, this state 
of inflammation, of insulin resistance, etc., that was slowing down the speed of neurons, that was slowing 
down the speed of signal between neurons. So, all in   all, what we understand from these two studies and 
a bunch of other ones in the field is that if you   eat in a way that creates a bunch of glucose 
spikes in your body, that's going to be felt by   your brain, and you're going to have a significant 
impact on the functioning of your brain. And this   is an interesting one for breakfast in particular, 
because in the morning, we tend to gravitate

towards sweet breakfast foods because sweet foods 
in the morning release dopamine in the brain, which is the pleasure molecule. So when you eat like an 
orange juice and cereal, dopamine floods your brain in response to the sweet taste. But that's very 
short-lived, and that pleasure then gets replaced by these negative impacts on your neurons and on your 
brain, leading to potential brain fog. So that's the first link between glucose and the brain. Glucose 
spikes increase the risk of brain fog. So if you want to feel sharp, if you want to feel alert, awake, 
if you want your brain to function at its best, it's very important to keep your glucose level 
steady so that you don't trigger this reaction. Now let's move on to the topic of mood irritability. 
This study I'm about to share has to be one of my favorite studies of all time just because it 
took so much courage, courage for the scientists to perform this study and to organize it. Um, seriously 
hats off. It's very impressive, uh, and this

study looked at glucose levels and married couples. It's a very funny study. The study is called Low Glucose Relates to Greater Aggression in Married Couples. So here's how the study went: The scientists recruited over 100 couples. They gave each person in the couple a voodoo doll representing their spouse, so their husband or their wife. All of these couples got voodoo dolls representing the person they were married to. And then the researchers asked the participants for three whole weeks to do the following: Every time their partner irritated them, they were instructed to put a pin, like a needle, in the voodoo doll representing the fact that Oh, my husband or my wife really annoyed me right now. At the end of the three weeks, the researchers got all the voodoo dolls back. They counted the pins in the voodoo dolls, and they also measured the glucose levels of the participants over a period of time. They found that in people who had steady glucose levels, so no big

spikes no big drops below Baseline those people 
had put fewer pins in the voodoo dolls that they   had representing their spouse so they were less 
irritated by their partner. However, the scientist   also found that the people, the participants who 
had a lot of incidents of low glucose levels, so   low blood sugar, those people tended to have put 
way more pins in the vood doll representing their   spouse. So when the participants had variable 
glucose levels and lots of low moments in their   glucose levels, and by the way, the low moments 
usually happen after a Spike Spike and then a   crash, those people were way more irritated by 
their partners, and it showed in the poor voodo   dolls that had a bunch of pins in them. I love this 
study because it shows us that our glucose levels   and the way that we eat can actually impact 
our personality and the relationships we have   with others. Another good example of this is many 
parents tell me that now that they've Incorporated

the glucose hacks into their lives their 
relationship with their kids has improved they are more Zen they have more patience and also their 
kids are more Zen throw Tantrums have a steadier mood so you're you're not necessarily somebody who 
gets irritated or even being hangry being hangry is such a common sign of being on glucose roller 
coaster I used to be hangry all the time being hangry means that when you haven't eaten in a few 
hours you are a nightmare to deal with like guys I used to be a nightmare like do not talk to me 
if I'm hungry kind of Vibes like I would snap at people be super rude I'm not proud of it but it's 
just a situation and what I didn't realize is that my glucose level was on a total roller coaster 
all the time all the time so I had big spikes and then big drops and those drops really added 
ated me and made me a not very nice person now in

terms of if you want to be a nicer person, and you 
think you might be experiencing glucose spikes and glucose drops, which by the way most of us are. If 
you want to know how to get started, there's a link in the description of this episode with one 
page recapping my 10 super easy glucose hacks, so just go ahead and download it. Then you can start 
with that, and then if you want more, there's my books, etc., but that's a free resource that I have 
for you. Now let's think about a little bit why we see such an impact between glucose and personality 
irritability. So the scientists believe that this is due to the fact that when we have a lot of 
glucose spikes, there are some molecules in our brain that get altered. In particular, big glucose 
spikes have been shown to lead to lower levels of tyrosine, and tyrosine is a neurotransmitter 
that is in charge of helping our mood be nice and

balanced, so it's possible that these big glucose 
spikes are impacting our tyrosine levels, which in   turn is creating these different personality 
changes and this irritability. So all in all,   if you're married, highly recommend studying your 
glucose levels. You're welcome. Maybe you can print   out the one-pager of the hacks and just put it 
on your partner's desk as if nothing happened, and   maybe they'll be less irritated towards you. Anyway, 
this is science, pretty interesting, hey? Really   quickly, if you can't always do my food hacks and 
you want to eat the carbs that you love with less   impact on your glucose levels, I created a capsule 
just for that. It's called anti-spike formula. You   take two before a meal, it cuts the glucose spike 
of carbs by up to 40%. 100% made out of plants and   tested by over 25 clinical trials. Link is in the 
description. Okay, back to the episode. Uh, another   one I want to talk about is the link between food, 
glucose, and mental health. So as I mentioned, the

reason that I got into glucose in the first place was because my mental health was in shambles and so this topic is super important to me and I think there's not enough conversations going on that are about the fact that the way we eat and our lifestyle the way we live our life can actually directly impact our mental health. To give you an example, if you're eating in a way that's creating lots of glucose spikes, we know that glucose spikes increase inflammation in the body. And when there's glucose spikes in the body, there's also glucose spikes in the brain. The blood-brain barrier really protects the brain from big variations in glucose levels, but there are still still felt and inflammation that is created in the body because of glucose spikes also gets created in the brain. And this in turn can lead to symptoms like depression, anxiety, etc. So the brain is not immune to what's going on, and when there's something wrong in our brain, it cannot alert us with pain.

like other organs do because there are no sensory 
nerves in the brain. All the brain can do is make   us feel certain ways. So if you're struggling 
with mental health issues, it's a good idea to   look at the way you're eating because you might be 
making something worse without even realizing. And   of course, mental health is a very multifaceted 
issue. It's not all about food, but for me, getting   my glucose level stable was the foundation that 
then helped me build on it. And you know, I did a   lot of therapy. EMDR was amazing for me. EMDR is 
something to help you process difficult emotions,   difficult trauma. And because I broke my back when 
I was 19, I had a lot of stress, my body, a lot of   emotions that were stuck from that experience. 
So that helped me so so so much, but the food   piece and the glucose piece was the first step 
for me. And I think if you're trying to improve

your mental health. Listen, it's a journey. You know, it's work, but if your glucose levels are super variable and you're on a roller coaster all the time, you're not going to have the energy and the solid foundation to then go and heal your brain and you know, heal whatever's going on in your life. So it's so key to get your glucose right in order to have a good footing on which to stand. So anyway, back to the science. So the relationship between glucose and mental health is an emerging field of study. It's very, very interesting, but the studies show us that the more glucose spikes you have, the more you're going to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression. If you're somebody who already has those conditions and as the glucose spikes get more extreme, the symptoms get worse. So here's a study I want to mention. It is called incident major depressive disorder predicted by three measures of insulin resistance, a Dutch cohort study. So in this study, the scientists

looked at about 600 participants, male and female, 18 to 65 years old, without any signs of insulin resistance or mental health issues. These participants were followed for nine years. So, when they enrolled in the study, they had no glucose issues because insulin resistance and glucose go hand in hand, and they had no mental health symptoms. Okay, as they were followed for the next 9 years, the scientists found that becoming insulin resistant. So, if one of the participants became insulin resistant, probably because of too many glucose spikes leading to that condition, they then had an 89% increase in risk of developing major depression. So, insulin resistance was a strong risk factor for developing depression. It's linked, guys, it's all connected, connected. If we experience insulin resistance, if we have lots of glucose spikes, inflammation, glycation, all of these things are also felt by the brain. So again, it's an emerging field, field of study, but we have enough data and evidence to support a strong connection between how we eat and our mental health, the way.

we eat also impacts our gut health, and gut health 
in turn impacts mental health, especially when   we're thinking about these very easy hacks that 
I'm going to share with you. There's no reason not   to try them, so if you're somebody who struggles 
with mental health, have a test, see if you feel   better. For me, it was in a matter of days, it 
completely changed my brain, so I highly recommend   testing it out. And of course, I'm just going to 
say this again, glucose is not the whole answer.   It's not going to solve all of your mental health 
problems, but it's an important solid foundation   that you need to have in order to go after all the 
other layers. And finally, in this episode, I would   like to talk about Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's 
disease is becoming more and more common in the   world at younger and younger ages. Interestingly, 
we're starting to discover a strong link between   glucose, insulin, and Alzheimer's disease, so much so 
that some scientists call Alzheimer's disease type

three diabetes or diabetes of the brain. I know that sounds pretty surprising, but the explanation is simple. The reason that some people call Alzheimer's disease type 3 diabetes or diabetes of the brain is because of two things. First, in people with Alzheimer's disease, scientists are noticing that their brain also shows signs of insulin resistance, insulin resistance, inflammation, and glycation, which are telltale signs in a body that has Type 2 diabetes. So, they're seeing a connection, they're seeing patterns that are super, super similar, and what they're noticing is that in people who have Alzheimer's, they also have this kind of situation where their brain has Type 2 diabetes, so it's all connected. And the second thing is that people who have type 2 diabetes are at significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, and there's one study that I'll cite. It's called midlife lipid and glucose levels are associated with Alzheimer's disease.

in this very big study, 3,200 participants aged 35 to 50 years old were followed up for 38 years. That is a long time. That's a lot of work. Kudos to the scientists. A lot of things were measured: triglycerides, blood pressure, glucose levels. And what the scientists found is that the people who had high glucose levels at midlife, so at 35-40 years old, had a 14.5% higher risk of developing Alzheimer's later in life. Because the scientists could follow these people for so long, they were able to see this pattern. They were able to see that if somebody, and looking back, of course, they were able to see this looking back, they were able to see that if somebody had high glucose levels in their midlife, then they were more likely to then develop Alzheimer's later in life. And so we have these two things. We understand sort of the mechanisms a bit more that

Alzheimer's might be a metabolic disease with insulin resistance in the brain, and we have data like this one that shows us, Oh yeah, it appears that high glucose levels at midlife is a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease later on. But there is hope. First of all, from this data, we can sort of get a sense that Alzheimer's disease is not 100% genetic and that we can do something about it. So keeping our glucose level steady as early as we can is going to be helpful to our brain in the future. And second, there are some studies even showing that some cognitive decline may be reversible if you significantly change your diet. And that's really amazing. It shows us that the way we're eating is impacting our brain and that we have agency and we have power and we can change how our health is going to look like in the future. So if you're interested in all of this, if you want to help your brain get healthier as you age, not get sicker as you age

my glucose hacks are a really easy place to start, and I'm going to tell you my four favorite glucose hacks right now. And again, you can download all 10 in the free PDF in the description of this episode. So, my four favorite glucose hacks for brain health are: 
number one, have a savory breakfast, not a sweet one. As we saw in the earlier paper, if you have a sweet breakfast, that's going to lead to glucose spikes, and that's going to lead to poor cognitive function, lower memory, brain fog from the glucose spikes, slowing down the speed of signal between your neurons. 
Second hack that I would highly recommend is the veggie starter. So, before your lunch or before your dinner, add a plate of vegetables to the beginning of your meal. The fiber in the veggies is going to protect your body from too big of a glucose spike coming through during the rest of the meal. 
Third hack, never eat sugar on an empty stomach. If you want to eat sugar, and guys, I love sugar as well, so

this hack is really key for me. If you want to eat sugar, let's say you want to eat like a chocolate cake or something, do not have it first thing in the morning and do not have it between your meals. Have it as dessert at the end of a meal because if you have sugar on an empty stomach or between meals, the glucose molecules in it are going to go really quickly to your bloodstream because there's going to be nothing holding them back. If you have the sugar at the end of a meal instead, then the food that's already in your stomach is going to slow down how quickly that sugar is going to get to your bloodstream. And as a result, it's going to slow down the appearance of glucose in your blood and it's going to reduce the glucose spike of that sugar. And final one is moving after eating. So after your meals, whenever you can, whenever it's easy, use your muscles for 10 minutes. You can go for a walk, you can clean your apartment, you can do some calf raises like

this uh at your desk. So just by putting your 
feet on the ground and raising your heels for 10 minutes, uh, you can dance. You can go to the gym 
and lift weights. You can do whatever you want, but these are really easy tools that are going 
to help your brain so you can feel better today, and also prevent any issues long term. Have a look 
at the free pdf in the description of this episode with my 10 hacks. And that is all we have time for 
today. I hope you enjoyed the science. I'm really fascinated with this topic. I think it's so so 
so so cool, um, yeah. So if you want to be a better wife or husband as well, you should study your 
glucose levels. Okay, I'll see you next time. Bye. [Music]

Prevent Alzheimer’s, improve Depression, Anxiety, and Brain Fog: The Food's Power | Episode 17 of 18

By Jessie Inchauspé, NYT bestselling author of The Glucose Goddess Method and Glucose Revolution. 


Glucose Revolution

Understanding the impact of nutrition on brain function is crucial for mental well-being.

Imbalanced glucose levels can worsen brain fog, memory issues, and cognitive function.

Scientific studies, such as the Effects of differences in postprandial glycemia on cognitive functions, are shedding light on the relationship between food, glucose levels, and brain health, emphasizing the importance of stabilizing glucose levels for optimal brain function.

The Impact of Breakfast and Glucose Levels on Brain Function and Mood

Eating breakfast that causes glucose spikes can lead to worse cognitive performance and slower brain function.

Fluctuations in glucose levels can result in brain inflammation and insulin resistance, ultimately leading to potential brain fog.

Steady glucose levels are important for optimal brain function and to avoid mood irritability, as shown in a study on married couples' aggression.

The Impact of Glucose Levels on Irritability and Relationships

Fluctuating glucose levels can affect irritability and relationships, as shown by the voodoo doll study.

Low glucose levels are linked to increased irritation towards a partner, while stable levels result in improved patience and mood.

Glucose spikes can alter brain molecules, leading to imbalanced mood and irritability, highlighting the importance of monitoring glucose levels for better relationships.

High glucose intake can lead to inflammation in the body and the brain, potentially causing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Fluctuating glucose levels are linked to worsening mental health conditions, with insulin resistance increasing the risk of developing major depression.

A nine-year study showed that becoming insulin resistant led to an 89% higher risk of depression, highlighting the strong connection between glucose, insulin resistance, and mental health.

The Impact of Diet on Mental Health and Alzheimer's Disease

Diet has a significant impact on gut health, which in turn affects mental health, and making simple changes can make a difference.

There is a strong link between glucose, insulin, and Alzheimer's disease, with high glucose levels in midlife increasing the risk of developing Alzheimer's later on.

Maintaining steady glucose levels and making dietary changes can potentially help prevent Alzheimer's and even reverse some cognitive decline.

Effective Glucose Hacks for Better Brain Health

Having a savory breakfast instead of a sweet one helps in avoiding glucose spikes and improving cognitive function.

Adding a plate of vegetables to your meals can protect your body from large glucose spikes.

Avoiding sugar on an empty stomach and engaging in physical activity for 10 minutes after eating can help reduce glucose spikes and improve brain health.