New study reconfirms sugar damages the brain

By Femi Kusa

Christmas and New year revelries are around the corner. It is a season in which many persons eat and drink to stupor. I am concerned more about sugary drinks and their inescapable effects on blood sugar balance and brain damage. Several 2024 and 2025 global studies warn of brain damage potentials of sugary drinks. An incisive 2023 study carried out by KERRI M GILLESPIE and others examined 77 studies and concluded that increasing sugar intake was causing poorer global cognitive performance, executive function and memory. They mince no word in saying too much sugar in the brain damages it. As I thought about sugar and brain damage, I remembered Chioma Isabella Ajana, a 100- level law student of University of Nnamdi Azikiwe. She was a TYPE 1 diabetic who must periodically inject insulin into her blood stream to normalise her blood sugar. She died because she lost the key to her hostel room and, for three days could not pay the Porters N18,000 for a spare key and get her injections! In my view, her death was avoidable on at least two grounds. First, insulin injection is not the only answer to type 1 diabetes. Her blood sugar was dangerously rising. She had no access to insulin. The Porters were too stiff-necked . Obviously, she had not been sufficiently educated about her health condition to know it was conquerable with herbal options such as orange peel, fenugreek, chanca piedra, balsam pear, pawpaw leaves, bitter leaf and brimstone. Although medical doctors who are not conversant with nutritional medicine do not approve their use, these herbs have demonstrated insulin like effects as sugar burners and when combined with insulin pharmaceutical anti diabetic drugs, have been shown to exhibit serious hypoglycemic effects. Secondly, CHIOMA ISABELLA AJANNA may have still been numbered among us today had those Porters behaved as human beings.

I deliberately detoured from the damage to the brain by blood sugar overload to recall the painful demise of Chioma Isabella Ajana through a sugar overload in her blood. I did this to prick the conscience of the Porters of her hostel who will enjoy Christmas day and New year’s day with their families and to let them know that, even if inadvertently, they killed her and robbed her family the joy of reunion with her this season.

There was no doubt that their job brief was that any student who lost his or her key must pay N18,000 for a replacement. Many students may have been becoming so irresponsible about the safety of their keys and the university, through indulgence, may have been losing money on free replacements. However, when a student turned up, said she was diabetic, that her drugs were inside her room, that she had no immediate access to money and that she could die if she did not have her insulin injection, couldn’t the Porters have given her the benefit of the doubt and followed her into her room? What would that have cost them? Were they not parents, uncles or aunts? Above all of these, were they not supposed to be human beings before when they were given their jobs to manage human beings?

The wounds of the passage of Chioma Isabella Ajana must be healing, but the pains will linger for some time in the hearts of many persons who were not acquainted with her but merely heard her story. Her death on July 9, 2025 has made me more sensitive to the stories of primary and secondary school children who are pre-diabetic, or who are simply reporting elevated blood sugar. Many of such children are in the school system. Their teachers most probably see them as ATTENTION DEFICIT and HYPERACTIVE (ADHD) children. Their attention spans are short. They fidget in the classroom and cannot concentrate long enough on their studies to make anything useful out of them. Their parents are often to blame. They indulge them with sugary foods and snacks, expose them to food flavours, dyes and colourings. Their tongues are grayish, indicating colonisation of the colon by candida, a yeast form, if not mold, and thereby disposing the brain to dangerous free radicals and toxins from the waste products of these microbial forms. In some young adults and in some of these young children, this may be a case of depression, which outside Alternative Medicine and nutrition formats is often misdiagnosed with psychiatric ailments and, thereby, MISTREATED with possibilities of relapses since roots of the problem are not well known and attacked.

William dufty

One gentleman who must be giggling on reading this column is William DUFTY, author of SUGAR BLUES, who led me through the forest of blood sugar troubles about 1995, close to 20 years after he published the book. I thanked him a lot because, before then, I was a SWEET TOOTH. I drank cassava flakes porridge (garri) in a 16 ounce cup embalmed with CONDENSED MILK!

Before I return to William DUFTY, I would like to state that the spur of this column was the newspaper report that a new scientific study had again linked elevated blood sugar to brain damage of varying dimensions, including reduced brain size, disablement of the HIPPOCAMPUS, that part of the brain which is responsible for memory and learning, dementia, Alzheimer’s, disruption of the BRAIN BLOOD BARRIER, inflammation and nerve weakness. I lost details of the new study. However, news of it led me to old studies, the findings of which I confirmed. Before I mention some of them and I discuss some of the herbs which may help to curb elevated blood sugar and prevent brain damage, I would like to return to William DUFTY.

Back to dufty

His personal experiences with sugar- induced debilitating migraines, haemorrhoids and weight gain influenced the writing of SUGAR BLUES, as would be the warnings of actress GLORIA SWANSON. They met in 1968 and were married in 1976 till 1983 when her death separated them. She always warned him about his sugar cravings. Under her influence, he began to investigate sugar’s impact on health and tactics of the sugar industry to capture the MIND and WILL of mankind. Together, they went on a promotional tour for SUGAR BLUES. On 4 April 1983, Gloria Swanson died in New York City of heart failure at 83. Dufty remained committed to their cause until his death 19 years after in Birmingham, Michigan of complications from cancer. He was 86.

SUGAR BLUES is an exploration of the history of naked sugar and of its devastating impact on human health. It warms us that sugar is addictive and lies behind minor ailments such as slow responses to nerve impulses to bigger ones like diabetes and brain damage. To this list may be added ulcers, physical weakness, mental illness, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and addiction. The message is clear: REMOVE SUGAR FROM YOUR DIET IF YOU WISH TO BE DISEASE AND PAIN FREE. More than 1.6 million copies of the book have been sold.

Sugar and the brain

It is probably no longer news to many medical lay persons that elevated blood sugar may thicken the blood with all sorts of complications. Thick blood causes osmotic dehydration of tissues and pains such as headaches and aches in muscles, nerves, tissue, bone and tendons. De-oxygenation may damage nerves and cause peripheral numbness. The blood may clot and this may cause vessel damage, heart disease and heart attacks, and even stroke. What may high blood sugar not cause outside DIABETES which is, perhaps, the most well known resultant. Many of the havoc’s of sugar in the brain are not known to many persons. Paediatrician Mrs Mary Newport, in her books suggested some problems in the brain may respond to ketones in coconut oil as an alternate source of energy in the gray matter. Her work was spurred by the ailment of her husband. She followed the tips given by a film director who popularised the term DIABETES OF THE BRAIN. The brain lives on sugar, but too much sugar in the brain is like too much sugar in the blood stream…DIABETES. He said brain cells wilt and die when they are subsumed in sugar and, if this occurs among brain cells which control vision, diseases such as GLAUCOMA may develop.

Brain blood barrier

As the brain is the power house of the body, it is protected with a powerful barrier against blood stream circulation, as, if we like, the earth is protected by the ozone layer against COSMIC RADIATIONS. Effects of damage to the ozone layer are well documented in scientific literature. So is damage by man made sugar to the BLOOD BRAIN BARRIER (BBB).

Sugar is highly corrosive as can be noted in teeth and gum diseases. When sugar damages the BBB, germs and their toxins, like toxins from food, the air, water and metabolism end products may easily cross up to the brain. It is possible the first effect is INFLAMATION everywhere. The early signs of inflammation of brain matter may be such conditions as sleep disturbances (insomnia, sleepiness in day time and other sleep questions, knee jerk syndrome, seizures, headaches, sensitivity to light and sound, fatigue which may be persistent, mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety. Other resultants from inflammation of the brain may include ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity disorder), anxiety disorder, cognitive disorder which may move around decline in problem solving ability, decision- making or right judgement, numbness or tingling and pain in several parts of the body, tremors, muscle weakness or problems with co-ordinating muscles. I was fascinated by an article on DELAYED NERVE RESPONSE which linked several road crashes in the United States to sugar problems. A motorist would sight an impediment on the road. His brain would tell the muscles of the foot to slam the brake. The message would take longer time than is normally necessary to reach the leg and foot muscles. This is because the” motorways” on which the message would travel have become congested with sugar traffic. An avoidable crash would occur!

Beyond inflammation of the brain, sugar damage in the brain may cause smaller brain volume. In smaller brain volume, the HIPPOCAMPUS part of the brain may grow smaller. This is the area which controls memory and learning. Thus, memory loss can occur and memory can be formed with greater difficulty. Learning also becomes more difficult. The sense of smell may wither. Challenged persons may find navigating familiar environment more difficult. Some get lost in the neighbourhood. I had a cousin aged 76 who suffered from dementia and went to hospital for his medicines, unaccompanied. After seeing his doctor, he went to the motor park and boarded a bus bound for five towns away. To cut a long story short, good Samaritans took him to a police station where his hospital card identified his home address.

Helping the brain

A sugar inflamed or damaged brain needs help which is abundant in the treasure troves of mother nature. There is help for inflammation, impaired cellular integrity, tormenting free radicals and other toxins, poor oxygen supply and waste evacuations, clotting blood, subnormal hippocampus, broken BBB and much more.

OMEGA-3 fatty acids in FISH OIL has been well documented by researchers as very helpful. Dr Joseph Maroon, a renowned neuro surgeon and nutritionist, gives it a testimonial for brain health in his book FISH OIL: THE NATURAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY.

BLACK PERUVIAN MACCA, which is different from red or yellow macca, may restore balance in a sugar disoriented HIPPOCAMPUS. It is endowed with powerful antioxidants which fight oxidative stress in a sugar-disoriented hippocampus, and can improve cognitive functions, improve mental energy and alertness. Laboratory experiments show it can improve learning and concentration suggest neuroprotective abilities, especially in MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS.

More suggestions are exciting. As for men who desire more testosterone for virility, physical endurance, muscle mass and tone, black macca is also well recommended.

GINGER and CURCUMIN, found in tumeric, take us back to remedies. So is GARLIC. They are great endowments in the Nigerian stem cell activator named REJUVENATING DRINK. ORANGE PEEL in powder or whatever form cannot be left behind for its anti inflammatory FLAVONOIDS, Hesperidin and Naringerin. There are other antioxidants and chemical substances which protect against oxidative stress and cell damage.

Lecithin, like DHA OMEGA 3, is a component of cellular membrane which supports cell integrity and fluidity even under sugar barrage. It supplies the brain with phosphatidylcholin which is converted to Acetyl-cholin in the brain. This is a neuro transmitter important for memory, attention and cognitive activities. Lecithin provides, also, INOSITOL which has diverse roles in the management of anxiety, mood swings, depression and other disorders. Lecithin has been a roaring success in the Alternative Medicine market since the last two decades.

GOTU KOLA balance blood circulation and biochemistry in both hemispheres of the brain. GINGKO BILOBA is well documented for improving blood circulation to the brain and micro blood circulation within it, dissolving clots and providing antioxidant support against free radicals and oxidative stress.

ALPHA LIPOIC ACID (ALA)

Is a favourite antioxidant choice because it is active in both fluid and fat media, selective or specific.

Lion’s mane mushroom

It blows my head Everytime I remember it was discovered by Dr Rita Levi Moltacini who discovered in about 1945 to support the regeneration of mangled and damaged nerves. She died in Rome in 2012 aged 103 years, writing and reading and appearing at academic conferences. Researchers after her have taken this mushroom beyond the care of nerves alone.

COCONUT OIL is where I would like to stop. The oil from immature coconut is preferable. This oil, being a medium- chain triglyceride, (MCT) substance offers energy which does not compromise health through residues sludges.

If the brain is exhibiting symptoms of “DIABETES OF THE BRAIN”, sugar barrages may have damaged the potential to produce neurotrophic factors or generate nerve growth hormone (NGH). Brain cells which are innundated with too much sugar and insulin and may have become INSULIN-RESISTANT, may be wilting and dying of hunger since blood sugar, ironically, is the “food” of the brain. Too much sugar is rushing in through the broken BBB and they are shutting their “doors” and “windows” happily. Coconut oil is well blessed with ketones which provide them acceptable, alternative fuel. That is why it is being reported by personal cases and clinical reports as helping several cases of mental health challenges, including glaucoma and other vision problems. The ketones may also improve mood swings, attention spans and behaviour balance. Its polyphenols are useful against oxidative stress and cell damage.

Herbs for diabetes

At the outset, I stated that CHIOMA ISABELLA AJANA may not have died if she knew about anti diabetic herbs, took them regularly or if the Porters of her hostel behaved like human beings. There are too many of these herbs in nature that no one need fear DIABETES. In the housing estate where I live, one architect did not believe until one of these herbs collapsed to normal his blood sugar count which had crossed a 400 point mark. When I showed him the miracle plant in my garden, he got members of his household to embark on a harvest expedition everywhere in the estate. These herbs have insulin like effects and may be used temporarily or for as long as is necessary in the treatment or management of insulin TYPE 1 DIABETES.

Some of them are chanka PIEDRA (my favourite), aloe vera (in gel form, capsule or powder), bitter melon( which may supress fertility for a while), PANAX GINSENG, STINGING NETTLE blood purifier as well), turmeric (an anti inflammatory as well), GYMNEMA SYLVESTRE (which also helps in the repair of damaged pancreas cells, good old onion, an antimicrobial, BLACK SEED, SOUR SOP leaves (they may not be used for prolonged periods), good old GARLIC, FENUGREEK(a friend of the respiratory system), JUNIPER BERRIES(it releases insulin from the pancreas and suppresses hunger) PTEROCARPUS MARSUPIUN ( It repairs damaged better cells of the pancreas and stimulates release of insulin), HEART- LEAVED MOON SEED (decreases insulin resistance, stimulates glucose uptake and stimulates insulin production).

So, in this season of revelry, let us keep a safe distance from sugars of all kinds, and keep our sugar burning herbs within easy reach in the medicine box.