EFFECT OF EXCESS CONSUMPTION OF SUGAR ON

BRAIN FUNCTIONS

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN ANATOMY , ABU ZARIA KADUNA NIGERIA.

JULY, 2014

IBRAHIM . Z . MOHD

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Human Brain

Crystals of Sugar

(Lien, 2007).

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IntroductionSugar is the generalized name for sweet, short chained, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food they are carbohydrate composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

(Hugil, 2006) Crystals of

Sugar3

Sources of sugar Natural sources:• Plant source:

Fruits

Agave nectar

Sugar cane

Sugar beets• Animal source:

Honey

Artificial sources:

Aspartame

Saccharine

Stevia

Sucralose

(Hugil, 2006)

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Chemistry of SugarsSucrose: a disaccharide of glucose (left) and fructose (right), important molecules in the body.

Structure of Sucrose (Hugil, 2006).

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Chemistry of sugars . . . Almost all sugars have the formula CnH2nO. The acyclic mono- and disaccharides contain

either aldehyde groups or ketone groups. All saccharides with more than one ring in their

structure result from two or more monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds.

The principle monosaccharides such as glucose and galactose present are digested and absorbed into the bloodstream and internal tissue.

(Hugil, 2006).

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Etymology The etymology reflects the spread of the

commodity. The English word originates from the Arabic word sukkar.

PERSIAN SHEKARSANSKRIT SARKA TAMIL SAKKAITALIAN ZUCCHESPANISH AZUKAR PORTUGUESE ACUCAR

FRENCH SUCRE

GREEK SACCHARIS

(Welsh, 2011).7

Forms And Uses Granulated sugars are used at the table to sprinkle

on foods and to sweeten hot drinks and in home baking to add sweetness and texture to cooked products.

Milled sugars are ground to a fine powder. They are used as icing sugar, for dusting foods and in baking.

Screened sugars are crystalline products separated according to the size of the grains. They are used for blending in dry mixes and in baking and confectionery. 8

Forms And Uses . . . Sugar cubes are white or brown granulated sugars

used to sweeten drinks. Liquid sugars are strong syrups consisting of 67%

granulated sugar dissolved in water. They are used in the food processing.

Invert sugars and syrups are blended to manufacturers specifications and are used in breads, cakes, and beverages for adjusting sweetness, aiding moisture retention and avoiding crystallization of sugars.

Polyols are sugar alcohols and are used in chewing gums where a sweet flavor is required that lasts for a prolonged time in the mouth. (Welsh, 2011)

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Consumption

In most parts of the world, sugar is an important part of the human diet, making food more palatable and providing food energy. After cereals and vegetable oils, sugar derived from sugar cane and beet provided more kilocalories per capita per day on average than other food groups.

(Welsh, 2011)

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Recommended daily allowance for sugar

The World Health Organization has halved its recommended sugar intake for adults,10% of total daily calories to 5%. For a normal weight adult, that's about 25 grams, or 6 teaspoons, per day.

The American heart association (AHA) says that adult women should get 5 teaspoons (20 grams) of sugar per day, adult men 9 teaspoons (36 grams), and children 3 teaspoons (12 grams). For comparison, a can of soda can have 40 grams, or about 10 teaspoons of sugar.

(Welsh, 2011)

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Sugar content of some foods Below is a compiled list of a few common processed

food items, and their average levels of total and added sugars, based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Nutrient Database:

Whole-wheat bread (one slice): 5.57 grams of sugar, 5.0 of which are added

Fruit punch: 11.29 grams of sugar, 4.4 of which are added. Bowl of corn flakes: 6.11 grams of sugar, all of it added. Fruit-flavored yogurt: 19 grams of sugar, 11.4 of which

are added. Fruit cocktail canned in light syrup: 13.93 grams of sugar,

6.4 of which are added.

(Lien, 2006)

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Sugar content of selected common plant foods (g/100g)

Food ItemTotal

Carbohydrateincluding

"dietary fiber"

TotalSugars

FreeFructose

FreeGlucose Sucrose

Fructose/Glucose

Ratio

Sucroseas a % of

Total Sugars

Fruits Apple 13.8 10.4 5.9 2.4 2.1 2.0 19.9

Apricot 11.1 9.2 0.9 2.4 5.9 0.7 63.5

Banana 22.8 12.2 4.9 5.0 2.4 1.0 20.0

Fig, dried 63.9 47.9 22.9 24.8 0.9 0.93 0.15

Grapes 18.1 15.5 8.1 7.2 0.2 1.1 1

Navel orange 12.5 8.5 2.25 2.0 4.3 1.1 50.4

Peach 9.5 8.4 1.5 2.0 4.8 0.9 56.7Pear 15.5 9.8 6.2 2.8 0.8 2.1 8.0

Pineapple 13.1 9.9 2.1 1.7 6.0 1.1 60.8

Plum 11.4 9.9 3.1 5.1 1.6 0.66 16.2

Vegetables

Beet, Red 9.6 6.8 0.1 0.1 6.5 1.0 96.2

Carrot 9.6 4.7 0.6 0.6 3.6 1.0 77

Corn, Sweet 19.0 6.2 1.9 3.4 0.9 0.61 15.0

Red Pepper, Sweet 6.0 4.2 2.3 1.9 0.0 1.2 0.0

Onion, Sweet 7.6 5.0 2.0 2.3 0.7 0.9 14.3

Sweet Potato 20.1 4.2 0.7 1.0 2.5 0.9 60.3

Yam 27.9 0.5 tr tr tr na tr

Sugar Cane 13 - 18 0.2 – 1.0 0.2 – 1.0 11 - 16 1.0 high

Sugar Beet 17 - 18 0.1 – 0.5 0.1 – 0.5 16 - 17 1.0 high

(www.inutrition.com)

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Effect of excess consumption Chronic consumption of added sugar reduces

 brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Leads to insulin resistance, which leads to Type 2

diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Once that happens, your brain and body are in a

destructive cycle that’s difficult if not impossible to reverse.

Research has also linked low BDNF levels to depression, dementia, poor memory formation and learning disorders.

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BDNF PATHWAY

www.ncbi.nlm.com

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……. Other studies have focused on sugar’s role in over-

eating.  We intuitively know that sugar and obesity are linked, but the exact reason why hasn’t been well understood until recently.

Research has shown that chronic consumption of added sugar dulls the brain’s mechanism. It does so by reducing activity in the brain's anorexigenic oxytocin system which is responsible for throwing up the red “full flag” that prevents you from gorging.  

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…… When oxytocin cells in the brain are blunted by

over-consumption of sugar, the flag doesn’t work correctly and you start asking for seconds and thirds, and seeking out snacks at midnight.

What these and other studies strongly suggest is that most of us are seriously damaging ourselves with processed foods high in added sugar, and the damage begins with our brains.  Seen in this light, chronic added-sugar consumption  is no less a problem than smoking or alcoholism. 17

An image of an obese

www.nlcbi.nlm.com

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…… A study was published by US scientists at the

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) stating that too much intake of sugar can have an effect on your brainpower but it can be counteract by including an OMEGA-3 fatty acid on your diet.

The said study was tested on rats wherein they underwent a high fructose corn syrup diet and how their memories were shattered by the corn syrup solution.

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In case of addiction

Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think. Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals and regular exercise can help minimize the damage.

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conclusionThe key word in all of the statistics is “excess.”

A healthy diet would contain a significant amount of naturally occurring sugar [in fruits and grains, for example].

The problem is that we’re chronically consuming much more added sugar in processed foods.  

Brain cells require roughly 10% of our total daily energy requirements.  This energy is derived from glucose (blood sugar), the gasoline of our brains. Sugar is not the brain’s enemy — excess sugar is. 21

References• Hugill, A. (1978). Sugar And All That. Gentry Books. ISBN 0-

85614-048-1.• Kretchmer, N. and Hollenbeck CB (1991).Sugars and

Sweeteners. CRC Press.• Lien, L., Lien, N., Heyerdahl, S., Thoresen,M.and Bjertness, E.

(2006). "Consumption of Soft Drinks and Hyperactivity, Mental Distress, and Conduct Problems Among Adolescents in Oslo, Norway". American Journal of Public Health.96(10): 1815–

1820.doi:10.2105/AJPH.2004.059477.• Welsh, J. A.; Andrea J S.; Lisa G. and Miriam B. (2011).

"Consumption of added sugars is decreasing in the United States". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 94 (American Society for Nutrition). 726-734. Retrieved January 18, 2014.

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