Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn

[pixy0stix]

Last minute Fat Tuesday post

news.yahoo.com/sugar-dumb-us-scientists-warn-190918006.html

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Eating too much sugar can eat away at your brainpower, according to US scientists who published a study Tuesday showing how a steady diet of high-fructose corn syrup sapped lab rats' memories.

Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) fed two groups of rats a solution containing high-fructose corn syrup -- a common ingredient in processed foods -- as drinking water for six weeks.

One group of rats was supplemented with brain-boosting omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), while the other group was not.

Before the sugar drinks began, the rats were enrolled in a five-day training session in a complicated maze. After six weeks on the sweet solution, the rats were then placed back in the maze to see how they fared.

"The DHA-deprived animals were slower, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity," said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

"Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats' ability to think clearly and recall the route they'd learned six weeks earlier."

A closer look at the rat brains revealed that those who were not fed DHA supplements had also developed signs of resistance to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates brain function.

"Because insulin can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, the hormone may signal neurons to trigger reactions that disrupt learning and cause memory loss," Gomez-Pinilla said.

In other words, eating too much fructose could interfere with insulin's ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar, which is necessary for processing thoughts and emotions.

"Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning," Gomez-Pinilla said.

"Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."

High-fructose corn syrup is commonly found in soda, condiments, applesauce, baby food and other processed snacks.

The average American consumes more than 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of high-fructose corn syrup per year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

While the study did not say what the equivalent might be for a human to consume as much high-fructose corn syrup as the rats did, researchers said it provides some evidence that metabolic syndrome can affect the mind as well as the body.

"Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think," said Gomez-Pinilla.

"Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain's ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage."

The study appeared in the Journal of Physiology.

[arborgold]

So I need to give up my weekly Mexican coke and occasional Bakeshop cupcake habit? Nooooooooooooooo!

In all seriousness, though, I find this study intriguing. I DO know that my brain feels more sluggish when I haven't been eating well, but I guess I never thought to tie it to sugar, just because I don't tend to eat a lot of it, anyway.

[desmerelda]

May 16, 2012 8:40:22 GMT -5 mr+ms said:

There's a lot of interesting info coming to light about diseases like Alzheimer's and the connection to insulin resistance; it's not simply something inevitable that happens in old age. AD is getting the nickname Type 3 diabetes.

Really? I didn't know that. This intrigues me as DH's great-grandmother had Alzheimer's and now my step-mom's mother is developing dementia. Neither woman had what you could consider a clean or stellar diet. I wonder how much that contributed.

[wrathofkuus]

There were similar findings with soy.

[emilyj]

This is interesting. When I cleaned up my diet in January (not went to clean eating, just eliminated a lot of crap out of it) it really made a difference in my stress level and how much more clear-headed I felt. Things with HFCS were one thing I really tried hard to cut completely. Hmmmm.

[meshaliuknits]

May 16, 2012 9:23:10 GMT -5 wrathofkuus said:

There were similar findings with soy.

Well, shit.

[moomeek]

Umm, did you read the part where both groups got the sugar water and one group got the "brain boosting dha?" To really make a valid comparison, they should have done one group sugar and one group plain water.

[Deleted]

May 16, 2012 9:40:54 GMT -5 @moomeek said:

Umm, did you read the part where both groups got the sugar water and one group got the "brain boosting dha?" To really make a valid comparison, they should have done one group sugar and one group plain water.

Yeah, I was unclear as to what groups were being compared here but I figured since I had cream cheese poundcake for breakfast, my brain was just muddling through a case of the stupids.

[ringstrue]

In other words, eating too much fructose could interfere with insulin's ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar, which is necessary for processing thoughts and emotions.

Didn't we already know this?

The writing of this story is misleading because sugar =/= fructose.

Fructose also damages your live just like alcohol.

[dev22]

Well shit. Not only is sugar making me fat, it is making me stupid? Bastard sugar.

[dottymobo]

May 16, 2012 9:40:54 GMT -5 @moomeek said:

Umm, did you read the part where both groups got the sugar water and one group got the "brain boosting dha?" To really make a valid comparison, they should have done one group sugar and one group plain water.

I was wondering about that too. I'm wondering if the article is just unclear or the study/journal of physiology are not top notch. It seems like if problem is that obvious, the study would never be suggested/funded/published.