Eating more omega-3 fatty acids can offset damage, researchers say
By Elaine Schmidt
May 15, 2012
Fernando Gomez-Pinilla
[Correction: Paragraph 5 of this release was changed from an
earlier version to reflect that the study focused on fructose generally,
not specifically on high-fructose corn syrup; that while high-fructose
corn syrup is sweeter than cane sugar, it is not "six times sweeter";
and that Americans consume approximately 35 pounds of high-fructose corn
syrup per capita annually, not "more than 40 pounds." The researcher's
quote in Paragraph 6 has also been changed slightly to avoid the
implication that the study focused solely on high-fructose corn syrup.]
Attention, college students cramming between midterms and finals:
Binging on soda and sweets for as little as six weeks may make you
stupid.
A new UCLA rat study is the first to show how a diet steadily high
in fructose slows the brain, hampering memory and learning — and how
omega-3 fatty acids can counteract the disruption. The peer-reviewed
Journal of Physiology publishes the findings in its May 15 edition.
"Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think,"
said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David
Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a professor of integrative biology
and physiology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. "Eating a
high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain's ability to
learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your
meals can help minimize the damage."
While earlier research has revealed how fructose harms the body
through its role in diabetes, obesity and fatty liver, this study is the
first to uncover how the sweetener influences the brain.
Sources of fructose in the Western diet include cane sugar
(sucrose) and high-fructose corn syrup, an inexpensive liquid sweetener.
Far sweeter than cane sugar, the syrup is widely added to processed
foods, including soft drinks, condiments, applesauce and baby food. The
average American consumes roughly 47 pounds of cane sugar and 35 pounds
of high-fructose corn syrup per year, according to the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
"We're less concerned about naturally occurring fructose in fruits,
which also contain important antioxidants," explained Gomez-Pinilla,
who is also a member of UCLA's Brain Research Institute and Brain Injury
Research Center. "We're more concerned about the fructose
in high-fructose corn syrup, which is added to manufactured food
products as a sweetener and preservative."
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