High-Fructose Sweeteners Make You Stupid

If you’re not born stupid,  you’re not out of the woods. You can always become stupid, and researchers at UCLA are now suggesting that high-fructose sweeteners can help. PsychCentral reports that scientists at the school put high-fructose corn syrup, which is commonly added to processed foods from soft drinks to baby food, in the water of two groups of rats. One of the groups was also fed omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). After six weeks, the high-fructose fed rats who did not get omega-3s navigated a maze much slower than the omega-3 rats, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity. The omega-3 deprived rats also developed signs of resistance to insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates synaptic function in the brain. The moral of the story? If you’re going to drink beverages with high-fructose sweeteners, make sure you also eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like salmon, walnuts and flaxseeds. Better yet, skip the high-fructose beverage. Read more from PsychCentral.