Ask the Diabetes Educator Archive

Q:

Can diabetes have an effect on your short-term memory especially in elderly people?

A:

Certainly diabetes can have a "memory effect", whether you are "elderly" or otherwise. When blood sugars are high, dehydration occurs. It takes 6 molecules of water to move 1 molecule of sugar through the bloodstream. Fuzzy, tired thinking is often the result. Diabetes gone unchecked over the years produces complications that affect most of our systems. In essence, we are not operating with a full deck.

The best advice: drink lots of water, eat nourishing food, and stay very active. This is advice I'm sure you've heard before.