Does sugar make you stupid?

Effects of sugar intake on the brain

05/16/2012

High sugar intake affects cognitive abilities. US researchers found in a study with rats that the animals were downright dull and slow due to increased intake of fructose. However, the effect can be remedied by the additional intake of omega-3 fatty acids, the statement of the scientists from the Institute of Integrative Biology and Physiology at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Like the researchers around Fernando Gomez-Pinilla in the „Journal of Physiology“ report, deliver their investigations „new evidence for the effects of metabolic disorders on brain function.“ The metabolic syndrome induced by high fructose intake in the rats, therefore, had a considerable influence on the mental performance of the animals. Their study proves that dietary habits interact with brain function, according to US scientists.

Too much fructose affects cognitive performance
At the beginning of their investigations, the US researchers trained the rats for five days on crossing a labyrinth. The animals were then divided into four groups: one received a fructose solution for drinking during the trial period of six weeks and was concurrently fed with omega-3 fatty acids, the second received a fructose solution and no additional omega-3 fatty acids, the third normal water and at the same time omega-3 fatty acids and the fourth normal water without additional omega-3 fatty acids. After completion of the trial period, the rats should again pass through the learned labyrinth. It was found that the rats, which had received a fructose solution without additional omega-3 fatty acids, noticeably slower in traversing the labyrinth than the animals of the other experimental groups, the US researchers write in the article „Metabolic syndrome in the brain“. Rats fed omega-3 fatty acids in parallel with the fructose solution, however, showed no comparable adverse effects.

Omega-3 fatty acids counteract the negative effects of sugar intake
Accordingly, the targeted intake of omega-3 fatty acids could the negative effects of high sugar consumption or the „harmful consequences of unhealthy eating habits“ counteract, explain Gomez- Pinilla and colleagues. Although the high sugar consumption impaired the cognitive abilities of the animals, but by taking the omega-3 fatty acids could „metabolic homeostasis“ (the metabolic balance), the US researchers continue. (Fp)

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Image: Thomas Siepmann, Pixelio.de