Drinktoo many sugary sodas and abusing candy and sweetsduring6 weeks can make us stupid. This is clear from a study by the University of California (USA) that shows that a diet rich in sugars sabotages learning and memory, in addition to causing the brain to work more slowly. Conversely, eating more omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the negative effect of a sugar “overdose,” the researchers suggest in the latest issue of the journal.Journal of Physiology.
“What you eat affects how you think,” explains Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, professor of neurosurgery and co-author of the study. In the long term, a diet rich in fructose – sugar – alters the brain’s ability to remember information. “Yescompensated by adding omega-3 fatty acids (walnuts, salmon, etc.)damage to meals can be minimized. “Omega-3 fatty acids protect synapses, that is, the chemical connections between neurons, which allow information to be stored and new knowledge and skills are acquired.
According to Gómez-Pinilla, his study refers to the fructose that contains, for example, corn syrup, a sweetening liquid six times sweeter than cane sugar that is usually added to processed foods, such as soft drinks or baby food. baby. It does not refer to the natural fructose in fruits, which is not harmful and is also accompanied by antioxidants.
In their experiments, Gómez-Pinilla and her colleagues worked with two groups of rats that were fed sugars, in one case, or sugars and omega-3s, in another, for six weeks. After that time, they carried out tests that showed that the rodents in the first group were much slower: theirbrains worked worse, did not think clearlyand they had a hard time remembering the path they had learned six weeks earlier. In addition to symptoms at the brain level, they had signs ofinsulin resistance, the hormone that controls blood sugar levels. Too much sugar in the diet, they conclude, blocks insulin’s ability to regulate how cells use sugar, and not enough energy reaches the brain to process thought and emotions.
