[리더스 다이제스트] Why Blood Sugar Matters 5 왜 혈당이 문제인가

The Mood and Memory Connection

A meal that raises blood sugar fast and furiously can leave you dragging like a willow in a windstorm. Not surprisingly, it doesn't do much for your mood, either.

Our moods are intimately affected by the levels of hormones in our systems, including the hormone insulin. These hormones in turn affect neurotransmitters, chemical messengers in the brain. The different types of nutrients we eat, including carbohydrate and protein, affect these transmitters differently, triggering drowsiness or alertness. But the brain may be most sensitive to one simple compound: blood sugar.

Unlike muscles, the brain can't store sugar. It needs just the right amount of it at all times to function best, so it's not surprising that it's very sensitive to even very small differences in the amount of blood sugar available. A steady supply -- which the foods in this book will help you achieve -- is by far the best.

Both low and high levels of blood sugar can cause trouble when it comes to your mood and memory. People report feeling more symptoms of depression when their blood sugar is low. Memory is affected, too. In one study, people with diabetes had more trouble processing information, remembering things, and paying attention -- besides being in a bad mood -- when their blood sugar was low. In people with type 2 diabetes, blood sugar swings are linked not only with poor memory but also, over time, with cognitive decline and dementia.

High blood sugar levels spell trouble, too. Long before they cause diabetes, they can impair the brain, shrinking a part that stores memories and increasing the risk of Alzheimer's disease. In one study at New York University, researchers found that in people who tended to have high blood sugar levels after meals, a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which is most associated with long-term memory, was smaller than in people whose postmeal blood sugar levels were lower.

On the positive side, keeping your blood sugar on an even keel can help you feel better and stay mentally sharp. People with diabetes who control their blood sugar well report better moods, less depression, and less fatigue than those who don't. Careful studies have found that the better they control their blood sugar, the better they are able to recall a paragraph after reading it and to remember words from a list.

In general, eating a good breakfast is the best way for anyone to improve mental functioning later in the day. Studies regularly show that eating breakfast improves mood, mental alertness, concentration, and memory. Eating the right breakfast, one that keeps blood sugar on an even keel until lunch, is likely to work even better.


출처 : http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/why-blood-sugar-matters/article36369-4.html





단어 모음

willow     [명사] 버드나무

hippocampus [명사] (대뇌 측두엽의) 해마

impair   [타동사][V/N] 손상시키다

keel     [명사] (선박의) 용골
[자,타동사][V, VN] ~ (over) | ~ sth (over) 배가 뒤집히다, 전복되다; 뒤집다, 전복시키다

리뷰

우리의 기분은 호르몬에 의해서 쉽게 변하는데, 인슐린도 포함된다.
무엇을 먹느냐에 따라 신경전달물질에 영향을 끼치기도 한다.
특히 뇌는 당을 저장하지 못하고 바로바로 그 때 필요하기 때문에 혈당에 좌지우지 되기 쉽다.
그래서 음식을 안 먹고 하는 건 별로 안 좋을 것 같다.

이 글이 매직 푸드라는 책에서 가져 온 것이라, 이 책에 있는 것들이 도와줄 거라고도 써있다.
 
당이 낮으면 우울함도 생기고, 기억력에도 안 좋은 영향을 끼친다고 한다.
그렇지만 당이 높을 경우에도 문제가 생긴다.
당뇨가 오랫동안 지속되면 뇌가 줄어든다고 하는데, 특히 장기기억력을 담당하고 있는 해마가 혈당이 낮은 사람들보다 더 작다고 한다.
그래서 당뇨가 있을 때 혈당관리를 잘 하는 경우 감정도 안정적이고 기억력도 좋다고 한다.

아침을 먹는 것이 중요하다고 하는데 정신적 기능을 낮에 하는데 도움이 되기 때문이다.
(아까 말했듯이, 뇌는 당을 저장할 수 없기 때문에!)
그대신 아침을 잘 골라서 먹어야 겠지?
꼭 당뇨라서 엄격하게 당뇨를 관리하지 않더라도 보통 사람들도 혈당에 신경써야 한다는 것이 이 긴 글의 주제인 것 같다.