Preserve brainpower by avoiding high-fructose processed foods: study
If you want to keep your smarts about you, ditch the soda and sweets and reach for some walnuts instead.
Because according to the latest study out of the University of California Los Angeles, a diet high in fructose commonly added to processed foods like soda, condiments, cereals, lunch meats, yogurts and baby food, can disrupt learning and cause memory loss.
In other words, "sugar makes you stupid," researchers said in a statement.
The study, published in the Journal of Physiology May 15, is the first to explore the role of fructose on the brain, researcher say, and not just diabetes and obesity.
High-fructose corn syrup is an inexpensive liquid that's six times sweeter than cane sugar and has faced a storm of controversy for being a health hazard, particularly for young bodies which, critics say, metabolize the sweetener differently than naturally-occurring sugars due to harmful byproducts.
But it's not all bad news. Researchers found that omega-3 fatty acids found in food sources like walnuts, flaxseed and salmon, can help mitigate the negative effects of a high-fructose diet.
Five days before the experiment, a group of rats was trained on a maze dotted with visual landmarks and numerous holes but just one exit. For the next six weeks, rats were fed a water and fructose solution, half of which also received omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) which has been shown to protect synapses in the brain -- signals between brain cells which enable memory and learning.
The result? The second group which received DHA navigated their way through the maze faster than the rats that didn't receive any omega-3.
To keep the brain alert and active, researchers suggest avoiding processed foods and swap sugary desserts for fresh berries and Greek-style yogurt.
