Omega-3s counteract the damage of fructose on the brain

Brain: fish oil reduces the effects of fructose

Omega-3-rich foods minimize brain damage caused by high amounts of fructose, such as slowing memory and learning abilities. Fernando Gomez-Pinilla and Rahul Agrawal, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (United States), reveal this in a study published in the Journal of ^Physiology1. The discovery adds new benefits to the action carried out by these fatty acids at the level of the brain.

Fructose: enemy sugar of the brain

Fructose is known to be the"fruit sugar." It is also used in the food industry: for example, carbonated soft drinks contain very high amounts of it. Gomez-Pinilla and Agrawal's studies focused on this very detail.

The study

Over a 6-week period, researchers evaluated the ability of 2 groups of rats to learn to navigate a maze and be able to remember the way out.

• One was fed a diet rich in fructose.
• The other was fed only healthy foods.

The results were surprising: the rats that had received fructose were much slower than the others. Further analysis shows that taking high doses of fructose blocksinsulin 's ability to regulate the use and storage of sugars needed to process thoughts and emotions. As a result, brain cells have difficulty communicating with each other. For this reason, the rats could not think and remember well the previously memorized way out of the maze.

Counteracting the action of fructose with omega-3s

In the same research, the authors compared the effect of fructose with that of Omega-3s. Introducing foods rich in these fatty acids (such as walnuts or salmon) into the diet, along with sugar, effectively counteracted the action of fructose. Supplementing one's diet with Omega-3s can in fact protect the brain from the negative action of some substances in carbonated soft drinks.

Natural sugar and added sugar: differences

Gomez-Pinilla points out that long-term consumption of high amounts of fructose alters the brain's ability to learn and retain information. The same researcher points out that what is of concern is the addition of sweetener or preservative in some food products, in the form of corn syrup, certainly not the sugar contained in fruit. Therefore, the expert recommends:

• Prefer, for example, a fruit yogurt to a packaged dessert;
• Increase Omega-3 consumption to minimize the damage caused by fructose.

Source 

1. Agrawal R, Gomez-Pinilla F, "'Metabolic syndrome' in the brain: deficiency in omega-3 fatty acid exacerbates dysfunctions in insulin receptor signalling and cognition," J Physiol. 2012 May 15;590(Pt 10):2485-99. Epub 2012 Apr 2