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Afraid of developing dementia in your golden years? You’re not alone, especially if you have a family history of Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. But developing dementia need not be your destiny. Other research shows that a healthy lifestyle, including what you eat and drink, can help lower your risk.
According to a report by the Alzheimer’s Association, “one in three older people dies with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. It kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.” Additionally, by 2022, an estimated 6.5 million Americans age 65 and older would be living with Alzheimer’s disease, and rates are expected to continue to rise as our population ages.
How do beverages impact your brain health?
As part of a preventive strategy to reduce your risk of dementia, it is important to pay attention to what you eat and drink, your daily exercise and also to avoid tobacco while controlling your weight. What you drink has a profound impact on your overall health, body weight, and brain health. Certain beverages are the main contributors of not-so-healthy nutrients to the diet, such as added sugars. According to the American Heart Association, almost 50% of the added sugar in the American diet comes from sugary drinks.
The top beverage contributors to added sugar are regular soft drinks, which account for 25% of daily added sugars in the US diet, followed by fruit-flavored drinks at 11% of total daily sugar intake. Sports drinks and sugary coffee and tea round out the other top sources of added sugar. These drinks provide more sugar than sugary desserts and other sweets, which account for only 3% of the added sugar in the average American’s diet.
To help you stay alert as you age, here are the drinks to avoid — and for more healthy tips to support your cognitive health, be sure to check out This Eating Habit May Harm Cognitive Function, According to New Research.
Sugary drinks
According to a 2017 report from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, nearly half of all adults consume one or more sugary drinks, i.e. regular sodas, fruit-flavored drinks, sports drinks , horchata and others, per day. That works out to about 150 calories or 37 grams of rapidly absorbed sugar calories per day. The upper limit for added sugars set by the AHA is 36 grams per 150 calories for men and 25 grams per 100 calories for women.
Sugar is detrimental to your gray matter as it is linked to metabolic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, metabolic syndrome, inflammation and type 2 diabetes. Foods that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease also increase the risk of dementia, because keeping your gray matter healthy for life involves keeping the millions of blood vessels that support your brain free from the plaque associated with heart disease.
In a recent study published in the Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Journal, the authors found that those who reported consuming the most sugary drinks were about three times more likely to have dementia than those who did not drink sugary drinks. The risk of stroke was also doubled in those who drank the sweetest drinks.
Research from the Harvard School of Public Health also shows that people who drink one or more sugary drinks a day are more likely to have poorer memory, smaller overall brain volume, and a significantly smaller hippocampus, the area of the brain related to memory and learning. . The authors suggest that sugary drinks are linked to symptoms of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.
As the main source of added sugar in the typical American diet, cutting back on regular soda is one way to keep your mind healthy and sharp as you age. A 12-ounce can of soda contains about 150 calories and 37 grams of sugar, which is more than you should have in an entire day.
Milkshakes
Milkshakes are the ultimate treat for many, but the sugar and saturated fats are a double whammy for your brain health. Saturated fats, found in whole dairy products, fatty meats, butter, and coconut and palm oils are known to raise LDL cholesterol levels.
Studies show that high cholesterol can significantly increase the risk of dementia. In fact, three large human population studies have shown that high intakes of saturated fat double the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, while diets containing unsaturated fat reduce the risk. An average McDonald’s chocolate shake has 650 calories, 85 grams (or 21 teaspoons) of added sugar, and 11 grams of saturated fat, more than half the total saturated fat you should have in an entire day.
Specialty coffee drinks
Regular coffee and tea with no added sugars can be a great way to boost beneficial antioxidants and other plant-based nutrients in your diet, but many coffee drinkers prefer their drinks sweetened. If you enjoy specialty coffee drinks from your favorite coffee shop, you may be getting a surprising amount of added sugar and unhealthy saturated fats.
Common drinks like mochas, flavored lattes, Frappes and more can contain the same sugar as two 12 oz cans of soda. For example, a 16-ounce Starbucks Toasted White Chocolate Frappucino has 420 calories, 64 grams (16 teaspoons) of sugar, and 10 grams of saturated fat. These high-sugar, high-fat, high-calorie options are the equivalent of eating a cake or several chocolate chip cookies. If you want a healthier pick-me-up, like flavorings without sugar and have your drink made with skimmed milk.
Sports drinks
Unless you’re a competitive athlete, you’ll want to limit the amount of sports drinks (Gatorade, Powerade, Accelerade, etc.) you drink each day. Sports drinks can harm your brain health, especially your brain’s gray matter.
One of the reasons these drinks can be so insidious is that they are marketed as healthier alternatives to sodas. While sports drinks play an important role in the nutrition of high performance athletes and in maintaining hydration during endurance type events, most average weekend warriors can drink water or calorie-free electrolyte replacement tablets instead of sports drinks.
A typical 20-ounce bottle of a sports drink like Gatorade contains 140 calories and 34 grams (8.5 teaspoons) of sugar. That’s all the sugar adults should have in a day. Like sodas, the sugar in sports drinks can increase your risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and neurological problems. A better alternative for a sports hydration solution is an electrolyte tablet or powder with no or minimal added sugar such as LMNT, Nuun, DripDrop Ors or Ultima.
Recovery drinks
Similar to sports drinks, recovery drinks are designed for serious athletes. They are made specifically with a 4:1 carbohydrate to protein ratio and are designed specifically to stimulate fluid, carbohydrate and protein replenishment.
The reason they’re not so healthy for your brain health is that they’re high in calories and made with simple carbs. For example, one serving of Endurox R4 Recovery Smoothie contains 280 calories and 39 grams (about 10 teaspoons) of added sugar. Unless you’re a serious athlete struggling to maintain weight, there’s no reason to add these drinks to your diet.
Caffeinated energy drinks
Red Bull, Rockstar, Monster and other caffeinated energy drinks were originally developed for extreme athletes or to help students wake up or stay awake, but they have no benefit when it comes to maintain your brain health due to their high sugar content. For example, a 12-ounce can of Red Bull has 168 calories and 37 grams (9 teaspoons) of added sugar. A 16oz Rockstar Original Taste Energy Drink contains 260 calories and 63 grams (almost 16 teaspoons) of sugar. If you want the caffeine that these types of drinks provide, look for sugar-free flavors.
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