Sugar sabotages our ability to learn and remember
At the Tomatis Centre, more and more parents come to see us about a learning or memory problem in their child (ADD or ADHD). By combining the Tomatis method with nutrition, our programme for children with attention, learning and memory problems makes our listening sessions as effective as possible. Contact us for a free first appointment with our nutrition specialist.
Updated on , a 4-minute read.
At the Tomatis centre, we see a growing number of parents coming to us about a learning and memory problem in their child (ADD or ADHD). Twenty or so years ago, a programme with the electronic ear gave good results; today we find that this is not always enough. Other factors need to be taken into account, in particular the daily intake of sugar in the diet, and the level of daily activity.
By combining the Tomatis method with nutrition, our programme for children with attention, learning and memory problems makes our listening sessions as effective as possible.
A study from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that a diet high in sugar affects our memory and learning.
Source: http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/this-is-your-brain-on-sugar-ucla-233992
A new UCLA study in rats shows that a diet particularly high in fructose slows the brain down, affecting memory and learning, and how omega-3 fatty acids can counteract this.
“Our findings show that what you eat affects how you think,” says Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and professor of integrative biology and physiology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. “Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term damages your brain's ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your diet can help to reduce the damage.”
While earlier studies had shown how fructose plays a part in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, this study is the first to reveal its effect on the brain.
Sources of fructose in the Western diet include cane sugar (sucrose) and high-fructose corn syrup, a cheap liquid sweetener. The syrup is widely added to processed foods, including fizzy drinks, condiments, apple sauce and baby food.
“This is the mechanism that makes learning and memory possible: our bodies can't produce enough DHA, so it has to be supplemented through our diet.”
The animals were fed standard rat food and trained in a maze twice a day for five days before starting the experimental diet. The UCLA team tested how well the rats could find their way through the maze, which had many holes but only one exit. The scientists placed visual landmarks in the maze to help the rats learn and remember the way.
Six weeks later, the researchers tested the rats' ability to remember the route and escape from the maze. What they saw surprised them.
The DHA-deprived rats also developed signs of resistance to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates synaptic function in the brain. A closer look at the rats' brain tissue suggested that insulin had lost much of its power to influence the brain cells.
“Because insulin can cross the blood-brain barrier, the hormone can signal neurons to trigger reactions that disrupt learning and cause memory loss,” said Gomez-Pinilla.
He suspects that fructose is the culprit behind the brain dysfunction in the DHA-deficient rats. Eating too much fructose could block insulin's ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar for the energy needed to process thoughts and emotions.
“Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning,” he said. “Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new.”
Gomez-Pinilla, who is originally from Chile and a keen exerciser who practises what he preaches, advises people to keep fructose to a minimum and to swap sugary desserts for fresh berries and Greek yoghurt, which he keeps within arm's reach in a small fridge in his office. An occasional bar of dark chocolate that hasn't been made with a lot of added sweetener is fine too, he says.
You try to be careful, but you can't resist a sundae with hot chocolate sauce? Then also eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, walnuts and flaxseeds, or take a daily DHA capsule. Gomez-Pinilla recommends one gram of DHA a day.
“It's like saving money in the bank: you want your brain to have a reserve to draw on when it needs extra fuel to fight off future diseases.”
Elaine Schmidt, 15 May 2012
In their own words
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