It is estimated that the number of cases of dementia will skyrocket in the next 30 years, but we can do a lot to prevent this. Dementia is caused by the fact that neurons lose their ability to communicate with each other. There is now growing evidence that certain foods and beverages can accelerate neuronal death. Researchers warn that drinks with a high sugar content have an extremely harmful effect on the brain: if you consume more than two servings of these drinks a day, your brain will age by 11 years, writes Solen le Net in the British newspaper “Daily Express”.
Pure sugar has a bad reputation for being associated with obesity and cardiovascular disease. This is because the consumption of sugar raises blood pressure and triggers chronic inflammatory processes – two of the harbingers of the disease. Neurological health research shows that sugar can potentially have detrimental effects on brain function. The addition of sugar is a dietary supplement based on carbohydrates, which contains a certain amount of calories. A well-known example of such foods are high-sugar drinks, which provide an influx of calories to help satisfy hunger quickly. But it can have devastating effects on the brain, eventually leading to shrinkage of the prefrontal cortex.
There is also evidence that sugary drinks accelerate the aging process of the brain. Some studies even show that sugary drinks can reduce brain size and impair memory function. In a study by Boston University School of Medicine, researchers observed a group of 4,200 people who were periodically tested for cognitive ability and memory. Study participants were asked to provide information on the amount of sugary drinks they consumed, and the researchers used this data to calculate possible damage.
The scientists’ conclusions are shocking. They have calculated that if a person drinks one or two glasses of sweet drinks a day, his brain will age by 1.6 years. If we evaluate the aging process in terms of memory function, the results were even worse. If a person drinks one or two glasses of sugary drinks a day and if he drinks more than two glasses, this leads to aging of the brain by 5.8 and 11 years, respectively. The researchers noted a noticeable decline in memory function and a decrease in brain volume in those study participants who regularly consumed sugary drinks, comparing their performance to that of people who did not drink such drinks. Sudha Seshadri, a professor of neurology at Boston University School of Medicine, said: “The findings of these studies are inconclusive, but they are convincing evidence to support conclusions. It turns out that there aren’t many positive results from sugary drinks, and replacing sugar with artificial sweeteners obviously doesn’t help. ” It is difficult to measure the exact amount of sugar consumed in one or another person’s diet, so we used sugary drinks as a guide, “he said. the relationship is causal.
