Recent research done by scientists at UCLA has discovered that fructose, a sugar, causes damage and alteration to the genes of the human brain. The research has determined that the fructose will alter the brain to the point where several diseases will possible take hold and develop. Among the afflictions that can be caused by the fructose are ADHD, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease and diabetes among others.
It is almost impossible to avoid fructose in the daily diet of any Western nation. High fructose corn syrup is found in just about everything that can be purchased from a supermarket shelf. According to the Department of Agriculture, Americans consume about 30 pounds of the high fructose corn syrup individually every year. Scientists determined that the fructose in the body can destroy hundreds of the brain’s genes and cells. The reason for the alarm is that all of the above mentioned diseases happen when there is an alteration to the genes in the brain.
An omega 3 fatty acid called DHA can, they found, reverse the damage done by fructose in the diet. The DHA changes a pair of genes and seems, to the scientists, to return the genes back to their normal state. While the DHA exists in a natural state in the human brain, there isn’t really enough of it to actually combat diseases.
The research team sequenced more than 20,000 rat genes for the study. At the end of the six weeks, they found that the rats that were sent through a maze after a diet extremely high in fructose, were extremely slow and confused as compared with the rats that had lesser or no amounts of the fructose. In addition, they discovered that over 900 specific brain genes had been changed or injured. The research mentioned that the vast majority of the the damaged and altered rat genes were very similar to human genes.
The alteration in these particular genes in the study, the researchers from UCLA said, can be significant because they can cause other such brain afflictions as Parkinson’e, bi-polar disorder, depression, and a veritable host of others.
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