Dear Healthy Friend,

For those struggling with type II diabetes, the symptoms and side effects seem to keep piling up. Unfortunately, that long list includes memory impairment.

But, for once, there is good news. A new study in the journal Nutrition Research shows that reducing oxidative stress might help alleviate the problem.

Jenny Thompson reveals the study and the results....

In the name of good health,

Taryn Strugnell
Managing Editor of Nutrition & Healing

Antioxidants could help reduce memory loss in type II diabetics
Jenny Thompson
Publisher, Health Sciences Institute

Based on studies that revealed increased oxidative stress after a high-fat meal, Canadian researchers at the University of Toronto (UT) wondered if oxidative stress contributed to post-meal memory deficits they noticed in prior research.

The UT team recruited 16 type II diabetics with an average age of 65 who did not use antioxidant supplements. Each subject was given cognitive tests following three separate interventions:

1) A high-fat meal
2) The same high-fat meal, taken with one gram of vitamin C and 800IU of vitamin E
3) Water

The results:

• Subjects tested poorly in working memory and delayed verbal recall 105 minutes after the high-fat meal, compared to water intake
• After the high-fat meal with antioxidant supplements, subjects tested much better – virtually the same as with water intake

So in addition to confirming their theory that oxidative stress plays a role in memory impairment, the UT team also showed just how effective a couple of antioxidant supplements can be when high doses are taken with a meal.

But this isn't the first trial from the University of Toronto to examine the effects of diet on memory function in type II diabetes.

In a similar study, published in Diabetes Care (2003), another UT team confirmed that poor glycaemic control was linked to lower scores on memory tests. In addition, they found that an intake of high glycaemic carbohydrate foods "contributed to the underlying memory impairment".

Antioxidants were not tested in this study, so we'll need further evidence before we can conclusively state that supplements improve memory impairment in type II diabetics. In the meantime, there's no doubt that a diet that scores low on the glycaemic index could help improve glycaemic control.

Signs of sub-par stomach functioning

Q: I've read in your newsletter that heartburn and indigestion can be caused by having too little stomach acid. What are some signs that my stomach isn't functioning as it should?

Dr. Wright: There are numerous symptoms and signs on the body that can tell you if your stomach isn't operating up to par. They include heartburn, indigestion, bloating and/or belching after meals, a feeling that "food just sits there" after eating and constipation. Patent medicine advertising implies that heartburn and indigestion are caused by excess stomach acid. While this is possible, it's rarely the case. Testing almost always shows that these symptoms are the result of too little acid, which may also be in the wrong place (the oesophagus).

Other physical signs of poor stomach function are more numerous and common for women than for men. If a woman tells me her fingernails crack, split, peel, break easily or "layer back", I know that it's very, very likely her stomach isn't functioning properly. If she tells me her hair is thinning or falling out, it's usually the same problem. (I'm not sure why, but these two symptoms hardly ever show up together in the same woman.) Men have fingernail problems much less often. Male baldness also doesn't correlate with stomach function at all.

Body signs that occur in both sexes include bursitis, abnormal redness or ruddiness of the cheeks, dilated capillaries in the cheeks (even just a few sometimes) and the more obvious skin condition rosacea. Another not-as-common but not-quite-rare sign is chronic pain at the bases of the thumbs.

If any of these symptoms apply to you, you should consider having a thorough stomach function test done. To find a doctor in your area that could help you with this contact South African Society of Integrated Medicine on (021) 887-5364 or lucia@integrativemedicine.co.za.