At University of California, Los Angeles, researchers discovered that sugar isn't only bad for your body but it also slows the brain and reduces ability in memory and learning. According to Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery, "what you eat affects how you think". He says that too much sugar can weaken the brains ability of memory and learning but you can change this. By eating omega-3 fatty acids, such as flaxseed oil, you can avoid this happening to your brain. This is the first study every to discover this significant fact. There was a test conducted to prove this. Scientists fed two groups of rats. The first group got fed corn syrup, which is found in soda, condiments,etc. The second group were fed the same thing but were also given flaxseed oil, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and docosahexaenoic acid (this specifically helps the body with memory and learning. This routine lasted six weeks. At the end of the six weeks, each group were sent to go through a maze. It turned out that the group with the flaxseed oil got out much faster than the other group who were getting fed corn syrup for six weeks. The average Canadian consumed about 26 teaspoons of sugar per day in 2004, according to Statistics Canada. It was said that the findings suggest consuming DHA regularly protects the brain against fructose's harmful effects.
I think that this is bad news for candy companies but good news for us so now we know to cut down on the sugar not only because of how unhealthy it is but to prevent your brain from getting damaged. It is also good to know a cure to this. Flaxseed oil is a great product and should be in more foods today.
Link:
http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/16/sugar-may-make-you-stupid-study
I'm always cautious when I read about new food studies. Most of the research labs are funded by the food industry like the beef industry. This can often make labs biased towards certain things and contaminate the results.
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