Sweets make us stupid

Eating sweets and soft drinks containing sugar for just six weeks makes a person stupid.

A new study from the University of California (UCLA) with mice shows that a diet high in fructose slows brain function, impairs memory and learning. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids can counteract this destructive process. The peer-reviewed Journal of Physiology published the results of this study.

"Research has illustrated that diet has an impact on thought processes," said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at UCLA. "Long-term consumption of a fructose-rich diet impairs the brain's ability to learn and remember information. But including omega-3 fatty acids in the diet will minimize the harm."

Previous studies have shown how fructose harms the body, playing a role in the development of diseases such as diabetes, obesity and fatty liver. But only now has confirmation of a connection between sweeteners and brain function been received.

The UCLA team focused on high fructose corn syrup. This inexpensive liquid is six times sweeter than cane sugar. It is added to many products, including soft drinks, condiments, and even baby food.

"We are not talking about natural fructose, which is found in fruit along with important antioxidants," Gomez-Pinilla explained. "Our concern is with high fructose corn syrup, which is added to food as a sweetener and preservative."

Scientists studied two groups of mice that consumed an aqueous solution of fructose for six weeks. One group received omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil to protect synapses—the chemical connections between brain cells that make memory and learning possible.

For five days before the experiment, the mice ate standard food and were trained twice a day to find their way out of the maze. They were then switched to the experimental diet. The team tested how well mice navigate a maze. Scientists placed visual cues in it that helped mice learn and remember the right path.

After six weeks, the researchers tested the mice's ability to remember the path and escape from the maze. The results obtained surprised the scientists.

"The second group of mice got out of the maze much faster than the mice that didn't get omega-3 fatty acids," Gomez-Pinilla said. "The omega-3-deprived animals were much slower and their brains showed decreased synaptic activity. Their brain cells had difficulty when communicating with each other, which impaired the ability to think clearly and remember the path they had learned six weeks earlier."

Omega-3-deprived mice also showed signs of resistance to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates the functioning of synapses in the brain. A closer study of the brain tissue of mice showed that insulin had lost the lion's share of its former effect on brain cells.

"Our results showed that regular consumption of unsaturated fats protects the brain from the negative effects of fructose," Gomez-Pinilla said. “An analogy would be to saving money in a bank. You need to create a reserve from which your brain can draw resources if it needs additional energy and protection from future diseases.”

Source: globalscience.ru