Fructose Bad For Your Brain
A diet high in fructose slows the brain and hampers memory and learning, researchers at the University of California. A spokesmen at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, said high-fructose corn syrup -- an inexpensive liquid six times sweeter than cane sugar -- is commonly added to processed foods, including soft drinks, condiments and baby food.
Two groups of rats that each consumed a fructose solution as drinking water for six weeks. The second group also received omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which protects against damage to the synapses -- the chemical connections between brain cells that enable memory and learning.
The animals were fed standard rat chow and trained on a maze twice daily for five days before starting the experimental diet. The scientists placed visual landmarks in the maze to help the rats learn and remember the way.