Nutrition science discourses have changed a lot over the years, with the latest research found that one of the main enemies of health and causes of obesity is sugar, however, many people are unaware of the health effects of sugar. brains, which are much more harmful than one could imagine.
Sugar, in addition to being linked to heart disease or diabetes, causes various types of problems in our minds, in this article you will discover which are the most disturbing, however, before entering this topic, it is necessary to let go. of some of the myths about this substance.
- Growing up.
- We were bombarded with a number of totally misconceptions about food and nutrition.
- For example.
- The belief that the main risk factor for heart disease is fat consumption.
For a long time it was promoted that sugar was a totally harmless substance and did not have harmful effects on health, however, in 2016, a survey revealed that the sugar industry had bribed several researchers throughout history. What’s your objective? Hide all the harmful effects of this substance, which we now know is linked to cancer and other heart diseases.
The latest findings on the effects of sugar on the brain are perhaps even more worrying, below we will look at five of the most important ones.
Although this may seem like a myth, sugar addiction is a real problem, this disorder is affecting more and more people, who feel they need to consume more of this substance to feel good, in fact, people who have removed sugar from their lives talk about very unpleasant symptoms during the first few days.
For example, leaving sugar aside can cause people to experience headaches, nausea, muscle weakness, anxiety, and pressure drops. Fortunately, these symptoms are not permanent, they only last until the body adapts to function without the substance.
How does this addiction work? When sugar is absorbed by our body, it releases a lot of endorphins into our brains, so we feel less and less pleasure with the rest of our lives and have to eat sugar to feel good.
A study by the University of California on the effects of fructose consumption (one of the types of sugar found in vegetables, fruits and honey) found that it negatively affects the formation of synapses in the brain, i. e. by consuming a lot of fructose, our ability to learn and form new connections is diminished.
On the other hand, other research has also shown that people who consume a lot of fructose have lower levels of FNDC. This substance, whose initials mean “brain-derived neurological factor”, has a fundamental effect on our ability to generate new memories and learn new information.
In fact, some studies suggest that sugar consumption may have a direct relationship with Alzheimer’s disease, in fact, the medical community has considered classifying this disease as type 3 diabetes.
It is not only our cognitive abilities that are at risk; when we eat glucose, our mood varies greatly; because of its effects on insulin in our body, sugar spikes can cause depression, anxiety and sudden mood swings.
In the long run, these effects can get worse. When we ingest glucose, our brain releases Serotonin, one of the pleasure-related neurotransmitters. However, the reserves of this substance are not infinite: when they are emitted continuously, less and less will remain in the brain.
This makes it very difficult to feel positive emotions all the time for people who consume too much sugar for a long time.
Finally, recent research has revealed that glucose, deviations, is our satiety mechanism. For this reason, ingesting too much of this substance will always make us feel hungry, which is strongly related to obesity and overweight problems.
The problem is caused by the effect of sugar on oxytocin and its functions in the brain, one of the functions of this neurotransmitter is to tell our body that we are satisfied, however glucose impedes the performance of this function.
Sugar consumption has many side effects in our body, however, the consequences can be even more worrying for our brain, if you want to maintain good physical and mental health, try to minimize your sugar intake.