Can Sugar Make You Stupid?

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Can sugar make you stupid?"

by Trish Holst, MS on May 16, 2012 



“CAN SUGAR MAKE YOU STUPID?”
►Read the Research Article Here


Just the facts from this UCLA study:

§  What you eat affects how you think
§  Just six weeks of diet high in sugar can damage memory and learning
§  Fructose may impair brain’s ability to properly use sugars as its fuel.
§  Avoid cane sugar (sucrose) and “high-fructose corn syrup, an inexpensive liquid sweetener… added to processed foods, including soft drinks, condiments, applesauce and baby food.”
§  Concern is for added sugars in processed foods, not naturally occurring sugars in fruits
§  “DHA is essential fat for… brain cells' ability to transmit signals to one another,"
§  Adding Omega-3 fats (like DHA or flaxseed) can minimize the damage
§  DHA must be gotten from diet; our bodies don’t produce it.
§  Brain cells of DHA deprived rats had trouble signaling each other impairing memory and ability to think clearly  


Researcher’s recommendation: “…keep fructose intake to a minimum and swap sugary desserts for fresh berries and Greek yogurt…” and allow an occasional bar of dark chocolate that hasn't been processed with a lot of extra sweetener.


My recommendation: Read labels, look up fast food ingredients on-line.  You may be surprised to find that healthy sounding sports drinks and fruit drinks contain lots of high-fructose corn syrup. Try water or home-made green tea and a twist of lemon (without sugar) for a refresher.  In some research,  drinks with artificial sweeteners have been found to increase appetite so maybe not a good idea either.