Brain and Sodas, 2

The first study was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia in March of 2017. Researchers examined data, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and cognitive testing results, from about 4,000 people enrolled in the Framingham Heart Study’s Offspring and Third-Generation cohorts (children and grandchildren of the original FHS volunteers enrolled in 1948.) They looked at people who consumed more than two sugary drinks a day of any type (soda, fruit juice, and other soft drinks) or more than three per week of soda alone. Among that “high intake” group, they found multiple signs of accelerated brain aging, including smaller overall brain volume, poorer episodic memory, and a shrunken hippocampus, all risk factors for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. You may recall that the hippocampus, often called the brain’s search engine, plays a part in transferring memories from short to long term storage in the brain and in the retrieval of those memories. More tomorrow.