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Sugar can make you dumb, US scientists warn

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Donut

Donut

Supercharged

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/sugar-dumb-us-sci...-190918147.html

 

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.

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Joseph22

Joseph22

Turbocharged

anything not eaten in moderation will be bad for us lah. common knowledge.

 

US scientist this type also need to research then find out??

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Poker

Poker

Neutral Newbie

you should see how kids react aft a sugary drink :blink:

even if it doesnt make one dumb, it can make ppl hyper and do foolish thgs [laugh]

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Genie47

Genie47

1st Gear
(edited)

Time to stock up on Splenda.

 

Splenda.jpg

 

Cheapest I know is from the Valu$ shops run by Radha Exports. This stuff is potent, 1 teaspoon and it as sweet as 2-3 teaspoons of sugar but it is not sugar. What is great is that you can cook and bake with it. I tried and it needs some adapting. The stuff doesn't absorb water so things tend to come out crumbly and dry. Good to be used in cookies.

Edited by Genie47
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Watwheels

Watwheels

Supersonic

Time to stock up on Splenda.

 

 

 

Cheapest I know is from the Valu$ shops run by Radha Exports. This stuff is potent, 1 teaspoon and it as sweet as 2-3 teaspoons of sugar but it is not sugar. What is great is that you can cook and bake with it. I tried and it needs some adapting. The stuff doesn't absorb water so things tend to come out crumbly and dry. Good to be used in cookies.

What does it say on the box...as in the main ingredient. Coz a lot of time the artificial sweetener used are actually a form of laxative. Take too much of it will make you lau sai.

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Toothiewabbit

Toothiewabbit

Supersonic

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/sugar-dumb-us-sci...-190918147.html

 

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.

Rats!

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Genie47

Genie47

1st Gear
(edited)

What does it say on the box...as in the main ingredient. Coz a lot of time the artificial sweetener used are actually a form of laxative. Take too much of it will make you lau sai.

 

It is surcralose. Discovered by accident.

 

Tate & Lyle manufactures sucralose at a plant in Jurong, Singapore.

 

http://www.foodprocessing-technology.com/p...ts/tateandlyle/

 

It is more potent than aspartame and saccharin.

 

95% is dextrose. Maltodextrin is next which bulks it up but the small amount of sucralose packs a sweet walop into it.

Edited by Genie47
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Kiadaw

Kiadaw

6th Gear

Time to stock up on Splenda.

 

 

 

Cheapest I know is from the Valu$ shops run by Radha Exports. This stuff is potent, 1 teaspoon and it as sweet as 2-3 teaspoons of sugar but it is not sugar. What is great is that you can cook and bake with it. I tried and it needs some adapting. The stuff doesn't absorb water so things tend to come out crumbly and dry. Good to be used in cookies.

 

Artificial suger has side effects. Thats why I avoid things like coke zero or something.

 

At least until this report, suger mostly bad for teeth, makes you fat, if taken in moderation, some exercise will do.

 

Personally I do not like lots of suger or salt in my food. But somethimes, I do drink kopi without suger, tea, a nit hard, but I put only one cube normally.

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Kiadaw

Kiadaw

6th Gear

that's where Dumb Blondes originate from.

Thats sterotyping bro. There are intelligence blond people also, just that I haven't met one yet. [:p]

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Happily1986

Happily1986

5th Gear

Are he results really attributed to excess fructose or could they have been attributed to a lack of DHA?

 

What is the control rat fed on? i will reserve judgement unless i read the actual scientific article describing the experimental protocol.

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