I have been speaking with a couple clients about brain health and binge eating/over eating. One of my most cherished ladies was kind enough to share some of the research that she has come across in the last little while. I thought it would be beneficial to share some of the important points of these articles, as it is a topic that is not very well known, and I certainly did not come across any of this information while pursuing my degree.

http://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/health/junk-food-can-harm-memory-week

• This article speaks to inflammation of the hippocampal region in rats brains (spatial recognition), and some cognitive impairment (place recognition specifically) seen after a diet of high fat and high sugar, or healthy food with supplemental sugar water.
• These changes occurred at around one week of diet change
• These changes are not believed to be reversible once diet is returned to normal
• Changes in the brain occurred before weight gain
• Researchers believe that these changes also occur in humans
• These may affect ones internal cues and hunger pains

http://www.nature.com/emm/journal/v47/n3/full/emm20153a.html
This is a scientific research journal with a lot of interesting information, but I will try to keep it short.

• First of all, insulin is a peptide hormone that regulates the metabolism of carbs and fats by causing glucose to be absorbed from the blood and used for energy. When you consume sugar or carbohydrates, the sugar in your blood elevates. To deal with the elevated sugar levels, the pancreas secretes insulin and allows the excess sugar to be stored in the liver.
• If you do not produce enough insulin or your body is insulin resistant you can develop hyperglycemia, which can cause serious health problems
• Insulin sensitivity happens when the body does not respond to the normal actions of insulin. There are many factors that may be related to insulin sensitivity including: family history of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, inactivity, high cortisol, belly fat, high triglycerides among other things.
• Brain insulin signalling plays a part in "regulation of food intake, body weight, reproduction, and learning and memory"
• "Intranasal insulin administration improves working memory in both human and animal studies"...and "insulin sensitivity could be enhanced during learning"
• "Disruption of insulin signaling makes neurons more vulnerable to metabolic stress, thus accelerating neuronal dysfunction. Defective insulin signaling is associated with decreased cognitive ability and the development of dementia, including Alzheimer's Disease.²⁷ Poor cognitive performance in diabetes and Alzheimer's Disease are associated with a decrease in InsR expression and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) insulin levels.^28"

• Ultimately, there are connections between Metabolic Syndrome and Alzheimer's Disease, and Insulin Resistance is a link between the two diseases
• While there are some treatment options for Alzheimer's Disease being examined by administering insulin, I believe that it is best to consider prevention by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and trying to treat Insulin Resistance and Metabolic Syndrome ASAP and before Alzheimer's occurs.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/gerganakoleva/2012/05/17/binging-on-sugar-weakens-memory-ucla-study-shows/

• This news article talks about research done with rats navigating a maze. There were 3 groups of rats: those fed a glucose syrup designed to mimic high fructose corn syrup, a group that followed the traditional American food pyramid diet (whatever that means in the rat world) and a group fed the glucose solution plus a flax based-omega 3 supplement
• The rats fed the sugar solution preformed the worst, while the other two groups had better navigation times
• "According to Gomez-Pinilla, a member of UCLA’s Brain Research Institute, the rats’ memory deficits were triggered by an onset of insulin resistance caused by their prolonged high intake of fructose solution, which in turn damaged their  synapses — the connections between brain cells that enable learning."
• The researchers said that high consumption of sugar is a risk factor for many diseases including Alzheimer's and mood disorders
• Long term consumption of these "toxic" foods may have longer lasting effects

So what does this mean? A lot of the mentioned research was done on rats, which are a far way away from humans in terms of genetic makeup. We are much more complicated than rats, so we can not take all of the results to mean that there is direct correlation to humans. I do believe that many diseases are genetic and despite all of good intentions, avoidance of disease may be impossible.

BUT.... I also believe a healthy lifestyle with whole foods/proper nutrition, regular exercise, and avoidance of chronic stress can prevent most health issues and chronic disease. So rather than stress about what damage you may have done, work on becoming healthy and making the "right" choices 80% of the time.

It is also important to remember that long term binge eating/starvation can affect your hunger/satiety signals. Other chemical imbalances in your brain (especially dopamine) can play a part in over eating. If you feel like you may be experience some of these problems, speak to your doctor about the potential for medication which may help binge eating. As many know, I think healthy living is the best medication, but there are times when medication is necessary.


I
 would love to be made aware of any other studies on this topic, so if you have some great research please send it my way!