HOW SUGAR AFFECTS THE BRAIN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Don’t believe your tastebuds, sugar isn’t your friend.

Refined sugar is over 99 percent pure calories, with no vitamins, minerals, fats, or proteins – just carbohydrates that can spike blood sugar.

This spike is soon followed by a sugar crash, which can activate cravings for even more sugar.

Research shows that some of the most unhealthy foods in the world include high – sugar breakfast cereals, sugary coffee, tea, soda, ice cream and many baked goods.

Harmful Effects of Sugar

Eating sugary foods tends to make people hungry and tired. It also can lead to unwanted weight gain.

Excessive refined sugar consumption can create mineral deficiencies, interfere with the actions of calcium and magnesium, trigger an unhealthy inflammatory response, increase erratic brain cell firing, and may even cause aggressive behavior. And in children, excessive sugar intake especially from sweetened cereals and  drinks marketed as healthy makes them hyperactive and prone to learning difficulties.

Additionally, sugar consumption has been associated with mood issues and attention problems. It also can increase triglycerides, lower HDL (good cholesterol)  and increase LDL (the bad cholesterol).

How Sugar Affects the Brain

Unfortunately, many locally made drinks in Ghana are now overloaded with sugar.

Hypothetical: you take a bite of cereal. The sugars in the cereal activate the sweet taste receptors at the tip of the tongue. These receptors send a signal to many areas of the brain via the brain stem. One of these brain regions, the Cerebral cortex, registers different tastes, including bitter, salty, umami, and, of course, sweet. The unique taste sensation activates the brain’s reward system, which is a complex network of chemical and electrical pathways across several different regions of the brain. Eating a spoonful of cereal prompts the subconscious question, “Should I do that again?”

Unfortunately, over-activating the reward system can lead to a loss of control, greater cravings, and increased intolerance to sugar.

In addition, excessive sugar can lead to Diabetes. In the same way that diabetes can cause nerve damage to your eyes, feet, and hands, it can also affect your brain by damaging nerves and blood vessels. This can lead to problems with memory and learning, mood shifts, weight gain, hormonal changes, and over time, other serious problems like Alzheimer’s disease.

We recommend you to take a small amount of sugar daily and if possible take the brown unrefined sugar and better still,  Stevia, a plant based sweetener.

Source : Brain MD,

Journal of the American Medical Association.