Too much sugar 'shrinks your brain'

Study links high-sugar diet to brain shrinkage

New research linking diets high in sugar to brain shrinkage may force doctors to redefine  what blood glucose levels are dangerous.

The study suggests long-term exposure to sugary foods and drinks can have an impact on brain health.
 

NEW research linking a diet high in sugar and processed foods to brain shrinkage has prompted a rethink on safe blood sugar levels.

People with blood sugar levels of 4ml-6.1ml were found to have a greater risk of the brain atrophy that occurs with ageing and dementia, researchers at the Australian National University's College of Medicine found.
These blood sugar levels are not high enough to meet the clinical definition for type 2 diabetes and are at the upper end of the normal range, which has surprised researchers.
The research may force doctors to redefine what blood glucose levels are dangerous.
The study found that the loss of brain volume affected mostly memory and cognitive skills.
Dr Nicolas Cherbuin, who conducted the study, said the research suggested long-term exposure to  foods like sugary drinks and white flour were responsible for the problem.
Previous medical research found higher levels of brain shrinkage among the obese and patients with type 2 diabetes.
"These findings suggest that even for people who do not have diabetes, higher blood sugar levels could have an impact on brain health,'' Dr Cherbuin said.
"More research is needed, but these findings may lead us to re-evaluate the concept of normal blood sugar levels and the definition of diabetes,'' he said.
After controlling for age, high blood pressure, smoking, alcohol use and other factors the study found blood sugar accounted for six to ten per cent of the brain shrinkage.
The study involved  249 Canberra residents aged 60-64 who had an MRI scan of the brain and a blood glucose test and  were then retested four years later.
The shrinkage of the brain was measured by comparing brain size in the two MRIS.
Dr Cherbuin says he is now undertaking new research to see whether people aged in their 40's and 50's experience the same brain shrinkage.
The best way to avoid brain shrinkage was to eat low- glycaemic foods and avoid sugary soft drinks and highly processed foods that used sugar, white flour and fat, he said. Physical activity also helped lower blood sugar levels.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/study-links-high-sugar-diet-to-brain-shrinkage/story-fneuz8wn-1226465120775#ixzz25Y76luPY

Message found in bottle after 98 years sets world record

Message found in bottle after 98 years sets world record

By Douglas Stanglin, USA TODAY

Updated 3d 7h ago

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Scottish government, AP

A North Sea fisherman has set a world record by scooping up a bottle that has carried a message in the ocean for almost 98 years.

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By Scottish Government, AP

The bottle, found east of the Shetland Island off Scotland's northern coast, was among 1,890 released all at one time in a government experiment to map the undercurrents of the seas around Scotland, the BBC reports. Only 315 have been found.Fisherman Andrew Leaper, skipper of the Copious, found the bottle — which was set adrift in 1914 — in his nets in April.

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By Scottish Government, AP

Guinness World Records confirmed on Thursday that it is the oldest message in a bottle ever recovered, beating a previous record by five years, the BBC says.Oddly, the old record was set by Leaper's friend, Mark Anderson, who had found his bottle in 2006 while on board the same vessel, the Copious, the BBC reports.
Leaper says Anderson is "very unhappy that I have topped his record."
"He never stopped talking about it -- and now I am the one who is immensely proud to be the finder of the world-record message in a bottle," Leaper says, according to the BBC.
Inside each bottle, a postcard asks the finder to record details of the discovery and promises a reward of a sixpence, the AP reports. Unfortunately for Leaper, the coin no longer exists.
The Scottish government says adrift bottle 646B was released on June 10, 1914, by Capt. C. H. Brown of the Glasgow School of Navigation, as part of a batch of 1,890 scientific research bottles specially designed to sink downward and float close to the seabed.
"By tracking the location of returned bottles, it was possible for the undercurrents of the seas around Scotland to be mapped out for the first time," the government said in a statement.
It says the water-tight glass bottles contained a postcard asking the finder to record the date and location of the discovery and return it to the "Director of the Fishery Board for Scotland" – with a reward of sixpence available. It says Brown's original log is now held by Marine Scotland Science in Aberdeen and is updated each time a discovery is made.