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Page 32| Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com more than around 3-4 percent, this will outweigh any poten al benefits gained by treatment in almost anyone with type 2 diabetes over around 50 years old.' For example, they es mate that a person with type 2 diabetes who begins insulin therapy at age 45 and lowers their hemoglobin A1c levels by 1 percent may experience an extra 10 months of healthy life. But for a pa ent who starts treatment for type 2 diabetes at age 75, they es mate the therapy may only gain them an addi onal 3 weeks of healthy life. The researchers say this prompts the ques on - is 10-15 years of pills or injec ons with possible side effects worth it?" New Kid on the Block: Type 3 Diabetes, or 'Brain Diabetes,' May Be Responsible for Alzheimer's Disease and Glaucoma A growing body of research suggests there's a powerful connec on between your diet and your risk of both Alzheimer's disease and glaucoma, via similar pathways that cause type 2 diabetes. Alzheimer's disease was tenta vely dubbed "type 3 diabetes" in early 2005 when researchers learned that the pancreas is not the only organ that produces insulin. Your brain also produces insulin, and this brain insulin is necessary for the survival of your brain cells. A drop in insulin produc on in your brain may contribute to the degenera on of your brain cells, and studies have found that people with lower levels of insulin and insulin receptors in their brain o en have Alzheimer's disease. Researchers have now discovered that insulin does far more than simply regula ng blood sugar. Your brain does not require glucose, and actually func ons be er burning alterna ve fuels, especially ketones. In fact, Dr. Rosedale believes that it is the constant burning by the brain of glucose that is primarily to blame for Alzheimer's and other brain disorders. Insulin is actually a "master mul tasker" that helps with neuron glucose-uptake, and the regula on of neurotransmi ers, like acetylcholine, which are crucial for memory and learning. This is why reducing the level of insulin in your brain impairs your cogni on. Other research shows that type 2 diabe cs lose more brain volume with age than expected—par cularly gray ma er. This kind of brain atrophy is yet another contribu ng factor for demen a. "Brain diabetes" may also be responsible for glaucoma, according to recent research. As reported by Medical News Today: "Researchers [in India]... have proposed a new mechanism of glaucoma which suggests that diabetes can occur in the brain and may be the cause of many neurodegenera ve disorders including glaucoma... an irreversibly blinding disorder with almost 65 million sufferers worldwide. There is no cure... The recent paper tled 'Glaucoma: Diabetes of the brain - a radical hypothesis about its nature and pathogenesis', published in Medical Hypotheses... explore glaucoma and related neurodegenera ve diseases from many perspec ves and come up with a mul faceted and internally coherent concept of glaucoma being 'the diabetes of the brain.'" It's becoming increasingly clear that the same pathological process that leads to insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes may also hold true for your brain. As you over-indulge on sugar and grains, your brain becomes overwhelmed by the consistently high levels of glucose and insulin that blunts its insulin signaling, leading to impairments in your thinking and memory abili es, eventually causing permanent brain damage. In the United States, nearly 80 million people, or one in four has some form of diabetes or pre-diabetes. What's worse, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes among children and teens has also skyrocketed.