Download This Is What Sugar Does To Your Brain

This Is What Sugar Does
To Your Brain
By: Huffington Post
We know that too much sugar is bad for our waistlines and our
heart health, but now there's mounting evidence that high levels
of sugar consumption can also have a negative effect on brain
health -- from cognitive function to psychological wellbeing.
While sugar is nothing to be too concerned about in small
quantities, most of us are simply eating too much of it. The sweet
stuff -- which also goes by names like glucose, fructose, honey
and corn syrup -- is found in 74 percent of packaged foods in our
supermarkets. And while the Word Health Organization
recommends that only 5 percent of daily caloric intake come
from sugar, the typical American diet is comprised of 13 percent
calories from sugar.
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“Many Americans eat about five times the amount of sugar they
should consume,” Natasa Janicic-Kahric, an associate professor
of medicine at Georgetown University Hospital, told The
Washington Post.
It's easy to see how we can get hooked on sugar. However, we
should be aware of the risks that a high-sugar diet poses for brain
function and mental well-being.
Here's what you need to know about how
overconsumption of sugar could wreak havoc on your
brain.
It creates a vicious cycle of intense cravings.
When a person consumes sugar, just like any food, it activates
the tongue's taste receptors. Then, signals are sent to the brain,
lighting up reward pathways and causing a surge of feel-good
hormones, like dopamine, to be released. Sugar "hijacks the
brain’s reward pathway," neuroscientist Jordan Gaines Lewis
explained. And while stimulating the brain's reward system with
a piece of chocolate now and then is pleasurable and probably
harmless, when the reward system is activated too much and too
frequently, we start to run into problems.
"Over-activating this reward system kickstarts a series of
unfortunate events -- loss of control, craving, and increased
tolerance to sugar," neuroscientist Nicole Avena explained in a
TED-Ed video.
In fact, research has shown that the brains of obese children
actually light up differently when they taste sugar, reflecting an
elevated "food reward" response. This suggests that their brain
circuitry may predispose these children to a lifetime of intense
sugar cravings.
It impairs memory and learning skills.
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A 2012 study on rats, conducted by researchers at UCLA, found
that a diet high in fructose (that's just another word for sugar)
hinders learning and memory by literally slowing down the
brain. The researchers found that rats who over-consumed
fructose had damaged synaptic activity in the brain, meaning
that communication among brain cells was impaired.
Heavy sugar intake caused the rats to develop a resistance to
insulin -- a hormone that controls blood sugar levels and also
regulates the function of brain cells. Insulin strengthens the
synaptic connections between brain cells, helping them to
communicate better and thereby form stronger memories. So
when insulin levels in the brain are lowered as the result of
excess sugar consumption, cognition can be impaired.
"Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but
it may play a different role in the brain," Dr. Fernando GomezPinilla, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "Our study
shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the
body. This is something new."
It may cause or contribute to depression and anxiety.
If you've ever experienced a sugar crash, then you know that
sudden peaks and drops in blood sugar levels can cause you to
experience symptoms like irritability, mood swings, brain fog
and fatigue. That's because eating a sugar-laden donut or
drinking a soda causes blood sugar levels to spike upon
consumption and then plummet. When your blood sugar
inevitably dips back down (hence the "crash"), you may find
yourself feeling anxious, moody or depressed.
Sugar-rich and carb-laden foods can also mess with the
neurotransmitters that help keep our moods stable. Consuming
sugar stimulates the release of the mood-boosting
neurotransmitter serotonin. Constantly over-activating these
serotonin pathways can deplete our limited supplies of the
neurotransmitter, which can contribute to symptoms of
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depression, according to Dr. Datis Kharrazian, functional
medicine expert and author of Why Isn't My Brain Working?.
Chronically high blood sugar levels have also been linked to
inflammation in the brain. And as some research has suggested,
neuroinflammation may be one possible cause of depression.
Teenagers may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of sugar
on mood. A recent study on adolescent mice, conducted by
researchers at Emory University School of Medicine, found a diet
high in sugar to contribute to depression and anxiety-like
behavior.
Research has also found that people who eat a standard
American diet that's high in processed foods -- which typically
contain high amounts of saturated fat, sugar and salt -- are at an
increased risk for developing depression, compared to those who
eat a whole foods diet that's lower in sugar.
It's a risk factor for age-related cognitive decline and
dementia.
A growing body of research suggests that a sugar-heavy diet
could increase risk for developing Alzheimer's disease. A 2013
study found that insulin resistance and blood glucose levels -which are hallmarks of diabetes -- are linked with a greater risk
for developing neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's. The
research “offers more evidence that the brain is a target organ for
damage by high blood sugar,” endocrinologist Dr. Medha Munshi
told the New York Times.
Some researchers, in fact, have even referred to Alzheimer's as
"Type 3 Diabetes" -- which suggests that diet may have some role
in an individual's risk for developing the disease.
Compliments of SandiandEdCohen.com
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