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Post by Joanna on Feb 28, 2017 12:41:13 GMT -5
This Is Your Brain on Sugar
We know that too much sugar is bad for our waistlines and our heart health, but there’s mounting evidence that high levels of sugar consumption can also have a negative effect on brain health – from cognitive function to psychological well-being. 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. “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 over-consumption of sugar could wreak havoc on your brain:
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 begin to run into problems.
“Over-activating this reward system kick-starts 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 their brain circuitry may predispose these children to a lifetime of intense sugar cravings.
Impaired memory and learning skills. A 2012 study on rats conducted by researchers at UCLA, found that a diet high in fructose (this is just another word for sugar) hinders learning and memory by literally slowing down the brain. The researchers found that rats that over-consumed fructose had damaged synaptic activity in the brain, indicating 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 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 Gomez-Pinilla, 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.”
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 such as irritability, mood swings, brain fog and fatigue. This is because eating a sugar-laden doughnut or drinking a soda causes blood sugar levels to spike upon consumption and then plummet. When your blood sugar inevitably goes down (hence the “crash”), you may find yourself feeling anxious, moody or depressed. Sugar-rich and carb-laden foods can also interfere with the neurotransmitters that help keep our moods stable. Consuming sugar stimulates the release of the mood-boosting neurotransmitter serotonin. According to Dr. Datis Kharrazian, functional medical expert and author of Why Isn’t My Brain Working?, constantly over-activating these serotonin pathways can deplete our limited supplies of the neurotransmitter, which can contribute to symptoms of depression. Chronically high blood sugar levels have also been linked to inflammation in the brain. And as some research has suggested, neuro-inflammation 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 contributes to depression and anxiety-like behavior. Research has also found that people who eat a standard American diet that is 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 lower in sugar.
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 to a greater risk for developing neuro-degenerative disorders such as 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. Sources: Carolyn Gregolre, Healthy Living; and Pure, White and Deadly by John Yudkin.
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Post by kitty on Feb 28, 2017 15:33:25 GMT -5
I've heard people say that it's harder to cut out sugar than it is to stop using cocaine and I believe it. I've been addicted to sugar since I was a little girl and the only way to cut it out of your diet is to stop eating it all together. You can't eat just one candy bar or one donut, something just makes you keep eating and eating until you're so full that you have to take an Alka-Seltzer. It's shameful to admit, but it's the truth.
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Post by madeline on Mar 1, 2017 3:06:33 GMT -5
I've heard people say that it's harder to cut out sugar than it is to stop using cocaine and I believe it. I've been addicted to sugar since I was a little girl and the only way to cut it out of your diet is to stop eating it all together. You can't eat just one candy bar or one donut, something just makes you keep eating and eating until you're so full that you have to take an Alka-Seltzer. It's shameful to admit, but it's the truth.
When we went on our group trip to England, we always made special plans for dinner, but we never ate desserts because sugar saps your energy and we had a lot of things that we wanted to see and do. We don't eat desserts on our Dark Shadows trips every year either for the same reason.
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Post by natalie on Mar 1, 2017 17:58:18 GMT -5
You don't realize how much sugar or salt can be found in foods until you stop eating them, and get used to existing without them, or you're told it's affecting your health. My friend used to eat very salty foods without issue until they told him he had high blood pressure. Now, all of a sudden, he says the foods he'd always eat truly do seem salty. He never complained about the levels of salt before. Because the salt had never been an issue for him, he had never made a conscious effort to realize that.
Also, sugars are found in almost every sauce you buy at the store or enjoy at a restaurant, unless you make the sauces yourself. In that case, you truly know what is in your meal, and can avoid hidden sugars. Tomato sauce, bourbon glazes, teriyaki sauce, and so many more of these sauces/condiments have as much or more sugar than eating an entire tablespoon of the stuff! People think that because they are skipping dessert, that they're eating healthy but once you figure all the sugar in a dish's sauce, the pasta or potatoes, and the rest of the starchy items on your plate, you've consumed enough to suffer from hyperglycemia...in just one meal!
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Post by kitty on Mar 2, 2017 1:20:55 GMT -5
You don't realize how much sugar or salt can be found in foods until you stop eating them, and get used to existing without them, or you're told it's affecting your health. My friend used to eat very salty foods without issue until they told him he had high blood pressure. Now, all of a sudden, he says the foods he'd always eat truly do seem salty. He never complained about the levels of salt before. Because the salt had never been an issue for him, he had never made a conscious effort to realize that. Also, sugars are found in almost every sauce you buy at the store or enjoy at a restaurant, unless you make the sauces yourself. In that case, you truly know what is in your meal, and can avoid hidden sugars. Tomato sauce, bourbon glazes, teriyaki sauce, and so many more of these sauces/condiments have as much or more sugar than eating an entire tablespoon of the stuff! People think that because they are skipping dessert, that they're eating healthy but once you figure all the sugar in a dish's sauce, the pasta or potatoes, and the rest of the starchy items on your plate, you've consumed enough to suffer from hyperglycemia...in just one meal!
There's sugar in almost everything that you buy or even if you make it yourself, the recipes call for sugar. But I don't have a problem with things like sauces or starches, it's just things like candy, cake, cookies, things that have a LOT of sugar in them that make me pig out.
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Post by kitty on Mar 3, 2017 16:30:42 GMT -5
I've heard people say that there's good sugar and bad sugar (I guess like there's good cholesterol and bad cholesterol) and I'd like to know why that is. As an example, I know that fruits have what is called fructose, which is a form of sugar, but eating an apple or a banana, doesn't make you want to keep eating them like eating cookies, cake and candy makes you want to keep eating more sugar. I've tried Googling this, but there's just so much info that I don't know where to start reading. If someone can answer this, I would really appreciate it.
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Post by aprillynn93 on Mar 8, 2017 19:59:52 GMT -5
I've heard people say that there's good sugar and bad sugar (I guess like there's good cholesterol and bad cholesterol) and I'd like to know why that is. As an example, I know that fruits have what is called fructose, which is a form of sugar, but eating an apple or a banana, doesn't make you want to keep eating them like eating cookies, cake and candy makes you want to keep eating more sugar. I've tried Googling this, but there's just so much info that I don't know where to start reading. If someone can answer this, I would really appreciate it.
It is the processed sugars that are particularly bad for you - just like processed wheats and grains. Natural sugars are not as bad, though even those should be kept in moderation. I have been a low-carber for many years now, and have not had any regrets. I do have a fondness for good chocolate, so I usually have a truffle or some other chocolate in place of dessert. Chocolate, even though it can contain processed sugars, is actually pretty good for you in small quantities. The darker the chocolate, the better for you it is. All in moderation. If you can eat a little processed sugar and not go crazy with it, then that is fine. However, simple carbs make you crave more simple carbs, which is why they are so hard to kick. Once you get them out of your system though, you no longer crave them. |
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