This is your brain on sugar: high-fructose sabotages learning, memory

Big Gulp Nation: We really are getting dumber and fatter for someone’s profit.

This is your brain on sugar: UCLA study shows high-fructose diet sabotages learning, memory – UCLA Health and Medicine News

While earlier research has revealed how fructose harms the body through its role in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, this study is the first to uncover how the sweetener influences the brain.

The UCLA team zeroed in on high-fructose corn syrup, an inexpensive liquid six times sweeter than cane sugar, that is commonly added to processed foods, including soft drinks, condiments, applesauce and baby food. The average American consumes more than 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"We’re not talking about naturally occurring fructose in fruits, which also contain important antioxidants," explained Gomez-Pinilla, who is also a member of UCLA’s Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury Research Center. "We’re concerned about high-fructose corn syrup that is added to manufactured food products as a sweetener and preservative."

This is your brain on sugar: UCLA study shows high-fructose diet sabotages learning, memory – UCLA Health and Medicine News

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