Sugar Makes You Stupid: ACC Members what alternatives can you suggest???

UCLA study shows high-fructose diet sabotages learning, memory

Attention, college students cramming between midterms and finals: Binging on soda and sweets for as little as six weeks may make you stupid.

A new UCLA rat study is the first to show how a diet steadily high in fructose slows the brain, hampering memory and learning — and how omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the disruption. The peer-reviewed Journal of Physiology publishes the findings in its May 15 edition.

Different Kinds of Sugar

Credit: Wikipedia

Credit: Wikipedia

"Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think," said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a professor of integrative biology and physiology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. "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."
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While earlier research has revealed how fructose harms the body through its role in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, this study is the first to uncover how the sweetener influences the brain.

The UCLA team zeroed in on high-fructose corn syrup, an inexpensive liquid six times sweeter than cane sugar, that is commonly added to processed foods, including soft drinks, condiments, applesauce and baby food. The average American consumes more than 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"We're not talking about naturally occurring fructose in fruits, which also contain important antioxidants," explained Gomez-Pinilla, who is also a member of UCLA's Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury Research Center. "We're concerned about high-fructose corn syrup that is added to manufactured food products as a sweetener and preservative."

Gomez-Pinilla and study co-author Rahul Agrawal, a UCLA visiting postdoctoral fellow from India, studied two groups of rats that each consumed a fructose solution as drinking water for six weeks. The second group also received omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which protects against damage to the synapses — the chemical connections between brain cells that enable memory and learning.

"DHA is essential for synaptic function — brain cells' ability to transmit signals to one another," Gomez-Pinilla said. "This is the mechanism that makes learning and memory possible. Our bodies can't produce enough DHA, so it must be supplemented through our diet."

The animals were fed standard rat chow and trained on a maze twice daily for five days before starting the experimental diet. The UCLA team tested how well the rats were able to navigate the maze, which contained numerous holes but only one exit. The scientists placed visual landmarks in the maze to help the rats learn and remember the way.

Six weeks later, the researchers tested the rats' ability to recall the route and escape the maze. What they saw surprised them.

"The second group of rats navigated the maze much faster than the rats that did not receive omega-3 fatty acids," Gomez-Pinilla said. "The DHA-deprived animals were slower, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity. 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."

The DHA-deprived rats also developed signs of resistance to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates synaptic function in the brain. A closer look at the rats' brain tissue suggested that insulin had lost much of its power to influence the brain cells.

"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.

He suspects that fructose is the culprit behind the DHA-deficient rats' brain dysfunction. Eating too much fructose could block insulin's ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar for the energy required 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," he said. "Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."

Gomez-Pinilla, a native of Chile and an exercise enthusiast who practices what he preaches, advises people to keep fructose intake to a minimum and swap sugary desserts for fresh berries and Greek yogurt, which he keeps within arm's reach in a small refrigerator in his office. An occasional bar of dark chocolate that hasn't been processed with a lot of extra sweetener is fine too, he said.

Still planning to throw caution to the wind and indulge in a hot-fudge sundae? Then also eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, walnuts and flaxseeds, or take a daily DHA capsule. Gomez-Pinilla recommends one gram of DHA per day.

"Our findings suggest that consuming DHA regularly protects the brain against fructose's harmful effects," said Gomez-Pinilla. "It's like saving money in the bank. You want to build a reserve for your brain to tap when it requires extra fuel to fight off future diseases."

Contacts and sources:

Elaine Schmidt
University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences

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Permalink Reply by Krishna Kalki on May 16, 2012 at 7:12pm

If you are going to stop taking sugar that would mean giving up a lot of food products that contain sugar.
I use Stevia plant based sugar in tea but to give up sugar completely one has to keep looking for products with no sugar

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Permalink Reply by Two Feather on May 16, 2012 at 9:30pm

Natural Honey is the way to go if you need some kind of sweetener. I drink my tea with it and a pinch of cinnamon. Great health benefits.

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Permalink Reply by Krishna Kalki on May 16, 2012 at 11:13pm

That is good Two Feather but for Vegans no as they do not use honey stating that the bees produce honey only for themselves...otherwise for those not Vegan honey is good...REMEMBER NEVER HEAT HONEY AS IT BECOMES POISONOUSNESS

Let is find some more...AGAVA SYRUP...MAPLE SYRUP...are two to consider

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Permalink Reply by Assiya on May 16, 2012 at 9:38pm

fruits are the answer................

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Permalink Reply by Krishna Kalki on May 16, 2012 at 11:08pm

Fruits Yes... there is Fruit sugar available that may be the answer ..what more alternatives can we find

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Permalink Reply by FreedomPlanet42 on May 16, 2012 at 11:41pm

I have a friend who is diabetic... this is a tough one. Fruits and vegetables seem to be the way to go for your sweet tooth (there are veggies that are sweeter than others).

I guess that if you are aware of what you are ingesting, you are at least on the right track. Everything in moderation... I like the new coconut three musketeers bar, even with the knowledge that it is horrible for me to eat. If you're an avid soda drinker, switching to diet is really no better. In my friend's case, I've been giving her samples of different teas that I purchase from TeaVana, and some of those are pretty sweet on their own... and many of them have different fruits and flowers that brew up really well. It's just my attempt to wean her off sugar...

If you're looking for a sugar to bake with... a 12:1 ratio of xylitol and stevia seems to be the way to go.

http://www.naturalnews.com/022692.html

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Permalink Reply by Assiya on May 17, 2012 at 3:15am

your friend is diabetic becouse of all the fake, refined sugars this person ingests. If this individual would try all natural sugars in fruits of a diet this diabetic issue would disapear almost overnight.

I would suggest to research www.30bananasaday.ning.com(www.arawconnection.ning.com) which is all fruitarian site and research this issue. there are 100's of members there that healed this health issue with all fruit diet.........or durianrider on youtube that has bunch of videos about this.

it's natural sugar, baby....................

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Permalink Reply by FreedomPlanet42 on May 17, 2012 at 4:05am

I understand... but I have done what I can to convince her, and it's just not happening. She is putting her faith into gastric bypass surgery, and there is really nothing I can do about it. It is her decision. I will continue to do what I can, but for now it is totally up to her.

I will pass along the information and hopefully your information will help her.

Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by FreedomPlanet42 on May 17, 2012 at 4:10am

Um... the first one is 404: not found... and the second one.... she would totally take a dump on me about 30 bananas per day....

Still, I will try...

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Permalink Reply by Assiya on May 17, 2012 at 4:20am

I know that people fear this kind of info due to their brainwashing about medicine and surgeries or lack of believe in natural healing.

I get all kinds of negative responses from folks I try to talk to but never give up and continue my health cruisade.there are people out there open enough to listen and maybe someday your friend will think about it.

watching durianrider is a great education but real master teacher and pro is Doug Graham who is in his late 60's and great inspiration mixed with knowledge ( youtube)........

I just clicked on the links and they worked for me..............