High Fructose Corn Syrup Slows Your Memory to a Crawl
After you eat foods with high fructose corn syrup, your brain slows down. That's what scientists at UCLA found. The researchers trained regular rats for 5 days and taught them how to escape a maze. One group was given plain water, and another group water mixed with concentrated fructose corn syrup, similar in proportion to the typical amount a human gets from foods and drinks sweetened with high fructose corn syrup, for 6 weeks. The researchers then retested their ability to recall the route and escape the maze. Animals on the fructose water took 30% longer to remember and find the exit compared to those who drank plain water. "Our findings suggest that fructose disrupts plasticity - the creation of fresh pathways between brain cells that occurs when we learn or experience something new," said Gomes Pinilla, a member of the UCLA Brain Injury Research Center. "That's a huge obstacle for anyone to overcome..." Imagine your brain slowing down by 30%. No ...