A correlation between long-term high blood sugars and memory loss?

A new study from Germany looks at the effects of diabetes on the hippocampus. The verdict: maintain a healthy diet and exercise to regulate blood sugars and keep a healthy brain.

This sounds like a no-brainer, but what about those who feel less able to control their blood sugars?

When something goes wrong with the body’s ability to regulate glucose levels in the blood, the brain is not able work as well as it should, says Keith Fargo of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Almost makes me wonder what kind of impact those hypoglycemic seizures really had. Will I forever be paying for one lapse in judgment, for overestimating my insulin to carb ratio and suffering a concussion as a result? I hope not, and the neurologist didn’t notice any changes in brain function, but who’s to say that won’t change down the line.

Researchers noticed that the size of the hippocampus was smaller for those participants with higher blood sugars.

I’ve been working hard to avoid aluminum products, which contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer-causing products, but does it matter? I have this so-called diabetes that appears to scar me for life.

Your glucose level is determined by a combination of “genetics, diet and hormonal response,” Ratner says. “For those who have perfectly normal glucose metabolism, there is little they can do to change their level. The body controls glucose very tightly. The body is that good.”

Except mine isn’t. It didn’t stop my pancreas from shutting down. It didn’t stop my insulin resistance. It didn’t stop my seizures. Okay, that was more of a wake-up call, but still. How can I depend on a body that continually seems to work against me?

Ironically, this reminds me of a part in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, where Stanley Tucci’s character is asked what will he do now that his boss screwed him over job-wise.

“I hope for the best,” he says. “I have to.”

This is not job-related. This is my life, but it’s not like I can just order a new pancreas. I have to deal with the body I have. Maybe I will have memory loss issues later in life? But this idea does not stop me from taking care of myself.

A part of me desperately wants to believe that if I really try and listen to my body’s needs, I will be rewarded. A fantasy, I’m sure, but we all believed in fairy tales at one point.