Can sugar make you stupid?

A NEW study is the first to show how a diet steadily high in fructose hampers memory and learning, and how omega-3 fatty acids can minimise the damage. Researchers from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) tested two groups of rats’ ability to escape a maze. The first group was given high-fructose corn syrup 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).

"The second group of rats navigated the maze much faster than the rats that did not receive omega-3 fatty acids," 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.

Professor Gomez-Pinilla said the findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think. "Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information," he said. "But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimise the damage."