Gutsy Chick Podcast

Is Alzheimer’s Type 3 Diabetes? My Brain on Insulin and the Truth About Sugar’s Silent Damage

• Amanda Smith • Episode 75

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In this episode of the Gutsy Chick podcast, we’re diving into the powerful connection between blood sugar, brain fog, and what some experts are now calling type 3 diabetes. I’m breaking down how insulin resistance shows up in the brain, what it means for memory and mood, and why women are especially at risk. 

If you’ve ever felt off mentally or worry about your family history of diabetes or dementia, this is your gutsy invitation to get curious, take action, and start supporting your brain—one step at a time. 

 

In this Episode:  

00:00 Introduction to the Three S's: Stress, Sugar, and Sex 

00:31 Exploring Type Three Diabetes and Its Implications 

01:12 Personal Connection to Type Two Diabetes 

02:54 The Science of Insulin in the Brain 

03:13 The Role of Insulin in the Brain 

06:05 Neuroprotection and Neurotransmitter Regulation 

09:05 Energy Metabolism and Type 3 Diabetes 

10:31 Understanding the Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimer's 

13:41 Personal Strategies for Insulin Sensitivity 

16:34 The Importance of Early Intervention and Proactivity 

19:20 Empowerment Through Knowledge and Lifestyle Choices 


Other links mentioned: 

The Secrets of Body Whispering Private Podcast: https://bodywhisperhealing.com/private-podcast 

Watch Gutsy Chick Podcast on YouTube!

Check out more from Amanda:
Website: Body Whisper Healing
Instagram: @Amanda.G.Smith
Facebook: Body Whisper Healing
Pinterest: AmandaGSmithBWH
LinkedIn: Amanda (Ritchie) Smith

Take the Gutsy Chick Quiz to find out how your type A, high achieving mindset might be holding you back from healing your chronic health issue: https://gutsychickquiz.com





Hey, Gutsy Chicks, welcome back to another solo episode in our three S's series. The three S's are stress, sugar, and sex. And these relate to the foundational hormones I believe every driven woman needs to know how to work with, not against. Last time we dove into insulin and the body, how sugar impacts your energy, your metabolism, and your hormones. Today, I'm taking you deeper. We're getting a little neuroscience-y. and we're diving into the brain, into what scientists are now calling type three diabetes. This one's super controversial and right off the top you need to know the American Diabetes Association does not have a term type three diabetes yet. But the statistics are ridiculous and hard to deny. And scientists are on board with this being called type three diabetes. It's about dementia, insulin resistance, and Alzheimer's. And if you listened to the last solo episode, you know this one's personal for me. Type two diabetes is. rampant in my family. Almost every single person in my direct line and into several generations back have type two diabetes. Luckily, we haven't had dementia or Alzheimer's pop up yet. We've had inklings of it. We've been warned about it. And since my family is struggling with type two diabetes and that happens to be the diabetes that's linked with type three diabetes with Alzheimer's and dementia, I'm watching. I'm watching. closely because I'm watching my family's blood sugar medication stack up and I'm watching them Forget things forget words forget where they put things Have mom brain. And I bet this one's personal for you too. I bet you can think of a family member, non-bloodline potentially, or a friend who has struggled with this. I have clients who have either watched their loved ones die from this disease, or they're in the middle of caring for their loved ones while in this disease. And they're scared for themselves too, because it's genetic. We'll get into that as well. So is there a correlation between these blood sugar medicines and the forgetfulness, forgetting the words, having brain fog, asking questions multiple times? Yeah. Spoiler alert, there is. Let's dive into the science of insulin in the brain. Most people think that insulin is about sugar and the pancreas. We learned this in the last solo episode. You also learned about the spacecraft, but what about the brain? Yeah, it actually has insulin receptors all over it, especially in areas responsible for memory, focus, mood, and learning. So let's break it down. First, what you need to know is what in the world is a neurotransmitter and a neuron and a synapse. Neurons and neurotransmitters are fundamental components of the nervous system working together to transmit information. Neurons are nerve cells that transmit signals, while neurotransmitters are the chemical messengers that facilitate communication between neurons and synapses. Synapses are this little gap where the neurons communicate with the rest of the body. Neurons are the basic units of the nervous system responsible for sending and receiving signals. They have a cell body, dendrites, and an axon. Dendrites receive the signals, axons transmit the signals. Neurons communicate with each other through electrical and chemical signals. So then neurotransmitters are the chemical substances released by neurons to transmit the signals across the synapses. They act as messengers carrying information from one neuron to another or to other target cells like muscle or gland cells. Okay, now that we understand that, we can dive into the three functions of insulin in the brain. So number one. Neuroprotection. Insulin supports the survival of the neurons and prevents stress and inflammation. When insulin can't get to the neuron... the neuron doesn't have protection from stress and inflammation. In fact, in that case, you get increased brain inflammation. Chronic insulin levels and insulin resistance promote neuroinflammation, a key driver for neurodegeneration. It also enhances synaptic plasticity. So that means that that's how the neurons adapt and form new connections. And those are essential for learning and memory. And then this neuroprotection also helps the brain clear beta amyloid, a protein linked to Alzheimer's. Amyloid plaque buildup is an issue. So insulin resistance interferes with how the brain clears beta amyloid. And over time, this forms plaque that blocks communication between neurons. Without that communication in the synapses, no new memories, no new learning, no new thoughts. Neuro transmitter regulation, this is number two. Neuro transmitter regulation. So neurotransmitter regulation basically means the neurotransmitter, that chemical that carries the message into the nervous system, into the synapse. doesn't have a good way to regulate. Regulation is required because we want to keep the brain efficient. We want to keep it moving smoothly and we want to keep it controlled. And if there's no neurotransmitter regulation, the brain is no longer efficient. So relative to insulin, insulin helps modulate neurotransmitters like acetylcholine, is crucial for memory and learning. So the acetylcholine gets stuck or it doesn't move out of the synapse and it blocks memory and learning. It also affects dopamine. My favorite quote from Legally Blonde, happy people don't kill their husbands. That's because of dopamine. Dopamine influences motivation, mood, and reward pathways. And the neurotransmitters, well, they affect that dopamine. Three, energy metabolism in the brain. Neurons rely on glucose for energy. Insulin, a lot of big words in here, isn't it? Insulin receptors in the brain help manage how neurons take in and use glucose. But when your body becomes insulin resistant from chronic stress, poor sleep, ultra processed food, sugar spikes, all the things we talked about on the last solo episode, Your brain does too. It starts to starve. Even if there's plenty of sugar in your bloodstream, it's starves. And this leads to what researchers are now calling type three diabetes, brain based insulin resistance that contributes to neuro degeneration. So here are some symptoms to look for with type 3 diabetes. Again, if you know someone or have a family member who has dementia or Alzheimer's, here's some of the things that they should have been looking for. Memory loss, difficulty concentrating, mood swings or irritability, depression or anxiety, poor problem solving or decision making. Let's talk about the elephant in the lab. This is a controversial topic. Type three diabetes, like I said earlier, is not classified by the American Diabetes Association yet, but it's widely used in research. In simple terms, type three diabetes equals Alzheimer's disease caused in part by brain insulin resistance. Some major research institutions have pushed back against calling Alzheimer's type three diabetes. Why? Because it implies preventability. Because it challenges the pharma-dominated narrative. Because food, lifestyle, and insulin resistance aren't as sexy in the medical world as prescription drugs. But guess what? Multiple peer-reviewed studies, like those published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Frontier and Aging Neuroscience, have shown clear links between type 2 diabetes and increased Alzheimer risk. insulin resistance and cognitive decline, metabolic health and long-term brain function. It's not fear-mongering, it's physiology. This is where I get fierce. I refuse to sit back and let my genetic cards play themselves. I'm in the ring every single day and here's how I'm fighting back. And maybe it'll spark something for you too. Number one, fasting for insulin sensitivity. I've incorporated gentle intermittent fasting, not extreme, but enough to help my body clear excess insulin and give my brain a break from sugar swings. What this looks like. is some days I might not eat breakfast until 10 a.m. which gives me a nice prolonged duration of fasting overnight from when I ate dinner until that break fast in the morning. Some days that's 10 a.m. some days that's 9 a.m. some days I'm eating before I take my daughter to school and that's okay too. All depends on my schedule honestly. Number two protein plus fat first. I don't start my day with sugar bombs anymore. No more muffins or granola or sugary cereals. I anchor my meals with protein and fat to keep blood sugar stable and fuel my brain. I also include fiber. My breakfast lately have looked like eggs, which are a super food. Spinach. That's a carb. avocado, there's my fat and fiber, and then a fruit, which is another carb and fiber. Those matter. Number three, walking after meals for 10 to 15 minutes. It sounds so simple, but walking post meal improves glucose regulation dramatically. And yeah, it boosts my mood. Getting outside and the green stuff, seeing all the green. boosts happy dopamine in my amygdala. I've talked about that on a couple of YouTube shorts. I go live and talk about it all the time when I'm out walking on those walks every morning after I drop off my daughter at school, I am going for a walk with my dog and we go to this beautiful place. If you want to see it and pay attention to some of my shorts or go find me on social media. Every single Friday, there is a post with me on those walks. Go check it out. Number four, targeted brain workouts. I've built in brain training into my routine. Thank you, Barrett Smith for teaching me a boatload on this information. He was on episode three on when this was Spirit of an Athlete. I'm trying to get him on again because brain training is important. It's not just puzzles, but it's activities to challenge me mentally and physically. Learning new skills is a way to do that. Doing breath work is a way to do that. Using binaural beats is a way to do that. Doing eye therapy, VORs, saccades, smooth pursuits. If you don't know what I'm talking about when I talk about those particular eye things, go check out the episode with Barrett Smith. We go over one of those. some other physical things that I do, cross body work. So I am, no joke, just reach and tap opposite leg with opposite hand. That cross body work is activating my brain in a certain way. Using different tools, already mentioned, binaural beats, but just doing a frequency in the, called, they recently changed the name of, the headphones, but they're the ones that vibrate to create the sound in your ear and they sit over your ear. Those headphones, you can create frequency programs that change the way your body receives information. All of this is targeted brain workouts. This is my favorite way to help my brain do better. Number five, stress management, cortisol spikes. Equal glucose spikes, plain and simple, breath work, time and nature, intentional slow, intentional slowness. These are all ways for me to manage stress. And yeah, intentional slowness as a high achiever is possible people, I promise. Stress isn't just a feeling, it's a metabolic disruptor. fight against it. Here are some of the stats that absolutely blew my mind. 80 % of people with Alzheimer's also have insulin resistance or type two diabetes. 80%. This is why the scientists are calling it type three diabetes. 80%. Women with insulin resistance have a 70 % higher risk of cognitive decline than men. Women? 70%. We use our brains in magical, beautiful ways, and yet we're the ones that are seeing the cognitive decline. 70 % of women with insulin resistance. It makes me sad. A study at Brown University showed early insulin resistance in the brain can start decades before Alzheimer's symptoms. Early intervention is everything. But the problem is comorbidities. sideline us from seeing it. Comorbidities when it comes to depression and anxiety, obesity, PCOS in women, these are things that are comorbidities with type two and type three diabetes. It's not about being dramatic. It's about being proactive. Start working with your doctors. If you have a thing like I do, type two diabetes runs in the family. Start speaking with your doctor. Start finding people who will work with you to discover why certain things are happening. So gutsy chick, here's what I want you to hear loud and clear. Your brain is not separate from your body's metabolic state. Your habits today are laying down the road for the mental clarity in 10, 20, and 30 years. You're not powerless to your genes. Listen to any of the epigenetic podcast episodes. You'll learn your lifestyle. and your environment dictate how your genes express. You have more control than we've been told. If this episode lit a fire in you, like it does me, please share it with your sister, your mom, your friend who jokes about mom brain, but it is living on stress. She's living on stress in Starbucks. That's a problem. Give her this episode. We have to start talking about this more boldly. I'll link a few of the studies and tools I use in the show notes and Hey, I'm not perfect. But I'm present and proactive and I'm doing this with you. Be gutsy, protect your brain and I'll see you next time when we dive into sex and oxytocin. See you then.

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