High Fructose Corn Syrup and the Brain

Did you know that what you eat affects how you think? Studies at UCLA, reported in the Journal of Physiology, reported that a steady diet of high-fructose corn syrup disrupted the ability of lab rats to think clearly and to recall how to run a learned maze route. Some of the rats also developed signs of insulin resistance; insulin is a hormone that controls blood sugar and regulates brain function. (According to the US Department of Agriculture, the average American consumes more than 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per year, it being found commonly in soda, applesauce, baby food, condiments, and other processed snacks.) Researchers reported that the study “shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new."