Ah, That Sugar, It Took My Mind!

Author: Leticia Celentano Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

Consumption of foods with added sugar leads to a more serious cognitive decline with aging.

Nutrition affects not only weight, physical health, but also our mood. It's no coincidence that we define certain foods as aphrodisiacs, right ?! The truth is that some foods give us energy for a long time and that makes us feel good. Others, on the contrary, "charge" us with energy quickly, but, unfortunately, just as quickly leave our "batteries" empty. Diet can affect our mental state and in medicine there is even such a concept - Nutritional Psychiatry.

Current data suggest that certain nutrients are useful in adjuvant therapy for mental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. New research focusing on understanding the biological pathways for this has found a link between nutrition, nutrients and mental health and processes in the immune system, oxidative phosphorylation, brain plasticity, and the gut-brain-brain microbiome.

High consumption of food with added sugar is associated with an increased likelihood of incidental depression, according to a study involving more than 69,000 women. Sweetened beverages can also increase the risk of depression - this has been measured in the elderly. Conversely, a balanced diet prevents depression.

The unpleasant thing is that the sweet taste has a price and we pay this price even with the most expensive thing we have - our intellect. Prof. Dr. Murali Doraiswami of Duke University told CNET that people with high blood sugar have a faster cognitive decline. Scientists have learned to talk about "brain diabetes".

Studies have shown, as a concrete example, an increased risk of dementia with frequent consumption of sweetened beverages 5 . The researchers found that the changes in the brain began years before the clinical symptoms of cognitive decline appeared. 6 Conversely, nutritional interventions at a young age can help protect the brain. 7

Ah, That Sugar, It Took My Mind!

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