We all know sugar is bad for us. But it’s especially bad for your brain. It can lead to memory loss and can even damage brain cells.
Of course, the best way to avoid this damage is to avoid sugar. But even if you’re vigilant about avoiding it, there are lots of hidden sources of sugar that can find their way into your diet.
So wouldn’t it be great if we could prevent sugar from causing damage to our brain cells?
Well, one study found that there’s a nutrient that can do just that. Your body actually makes this nutrient, but not enough to protect your brain from an onslaught of sugar. So taking extra is extremely important.
In the study, researchers from UCLA divided a group of rats into two groups. They fed both groups standard rat chow. Then they trained them on a maze twice daily for five days before starting the experiment.
The researchers tested how well the rats navigated the maze. This maze contained numerous holes but only one exit. And it even had visual landmarks to help the rats learn and remember the way out.
Then the researchers fed both groups a diet filled with high-fructose corn syrup.
As you may know, high-fructose corn syrup is a form of sugar that’s six times sweeter than table sugar. It’s in just about every processed food these days.
It’s even in “healthy” foods like yogurts, nutrition bars, whole grain breads, and more.
In fact, the average American eats 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup a year! And it causes insulin resistance, diabetes, obesity, and a fatty liver.
Back to the rats…
After six weeks of eating high fructose corn syrup, the first group of rats started to develop the same illnesses I just mentioned. But they also suffered from another problem.
When the researchers tested the rats' ability to recall the route and escape the maze, they were much slower than they were at the start of the experiment.
The Damage Goes Beyond the Brain
The researchers said it was clear the first group of rats had significantly slower brain function. The slowing was so dramatic, it interfered with their ability to learn and remember information.
The researchers said the artificial fructose interfered with the way cells use sugar to process thoughts. In other words, the sugar seems to gum up the works. But the researchers also found that sugar damages the genes in your brain.
In fact, the fructose altered over 200 genes in the hippocampus (the area responsible for memory and learning) and over 700 genes in the hypothalamus!
These are the genes that regulate metabolism, cell communication, and inflammation. And it’s not just rats. Humans have these types of genes too.
Here’s Why That’s Important
Remember how I said there were two groups that ate high fructose corn syrup. One of them had substantial damage to their brain.
But here’s what’s remarkable: The second group didn’t have any brain damage.
The rats in this group ate just as much of the high fructose corn syrup as the first group. But they didn’t see any change in their brain function. In fact, they navigated the maze just as fast as they did before they ate the sugar.
The reason: The researchers gave the second group DHA.
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an omega-3 fat. It occurs naturally in salmon, tuna, walnuts, and to a lesser degree in flaxseeds.
DHA is essential for protecting your brain cells and their ability to communicate with one another. But DHA does more than protect your brain from the damage done by sugar. It also reverses the damage.
The senior author of the study, Xia Yang said: “DHA changes not just one or two genes; it seems to push the entire gene pattern back to normal, which is remarkable.”
That means DHA can reverse the damage your brain has already suffered from high fructose corn syrup.
So here’s what you should do to protect and restore your brain:
Ideally, you should should avoid sugar and high-fructose corn syrup. But, since that’s not always possible, it makes sense to take DHA supplements. Not only does DHA protect your brain, but it also protects your heart, it protects your eyes, and it protects your sex drive.
Two brands of fish oil supplements I like are Source Naturals’ Arctic Pure DHA and Nutricology’s DHA Fish Oil Concentrate. Both of these are available online. Take 1 gram daily.