Don't take it lightly! US: Excessive fructose intake can affect memory

Whether adults or children, few can resist the temptation of sugar. Having a dessert after a meal or satisfying their cravings with sweets during free time seems to have become a daily routine. However, eating too much sugar can not only easily put a burden on health, but it may also have an adverse effect on the brain. Researchers at the University of California found in experiments on mice that excessive intake of fructose may reduce the sensitivity of brain function and thus affect memory, which is very harmful to school-age children who are in the process of development.

A survey by the University of California, USA shows that consuming too much fructose can affect the functioning of the brain.

The British Daily Mail reported on the 17th that a professor of neurosurgery at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) conducted a 6-week experiment on mice, adding fructose to their diet to create differentiation. The results showed that the mice that ate sugar had weakened learning and memory abilities, and often forgot where they had gone and got lost. Researchers further analyzed the functioning of their brain cells and found that long-term fructose intake would block the effects of insulin on brain cells, making it impossible for brain cells to use and store sugar normally, thereby weakening the brain's ability to control thinking and emotions. The paper was published in the latest issue of the Journal of Physiology.

Fructose is six times sweeter than regular sucrose and its price is relatively low, so it is used in large quantities in processed products. According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans consume up to 18.1 kilograms of high-fructose syrup each year, and the hand-shaken drinks that Taiwanese people love to drink are almost all flavored with liquid fructose. The long-term accumulation is quite alarming. If school-age children have a cup every day, it will not only be harmful to their health, but it will also be a major concern for brain development.

Fortunately, experts proposed a solution in the same report, saying that eating more nuts, flaxseed, deep-sea fish and other foods containing omega-3 fatty acids, or swallowing DHA supplement capsules, can offset the damage of fructose to the brain, but reducing the intake of sweets and sweet drinks is the solution that can both treat the symptoms and the root cause.