What Does Sugar Do to the Brain?

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Originally Posted By: bigt61
Eat more fat and protein, limit your carbs. Veggies are fine, but not corn, potatoes or beans. Eat all the eggs you want. If you have to have sugar, keep it to once a week.


Huh???
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
sugar_brain.jpg


apparently pretty serious stuff: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/what_does_sugar_do_to_the_brain.aspx

and this is no joke, studies from different groups agree about sugars causing dementia.


Thank you for linking an article that actually footnotes the source material that it is using to draw the conclusions.

I don't think there's any doubt that consuming processed sugar (as well as the host of "artificial" sweeteners) is stupid. Just like other processed foods, it is one contributor to the declining health and soaring obesity rates in the US and other countries where the western processed food diet has been embraced.

Originally Posted By: Turk
I eat way too much sugar.

- Can easily eat 1 Quart of Ice Cream per day.
- Can easily drink 2 cans of Pop a day.
- Then all the other stuff that has sugar in it.

Oh, my Step-Daughter just brought me home a McFlurry from her work. LOL!!



So if you recognize that you consume way too much sugar, why don't you change your habits? A diet that included that much garbage is bound to cause health issues-I'm guessing that you're not exactly the picture of health.

Originally Posted By: GMFan
Eggs are now good for you, cholesterol is okay and fats are needed by your body. No sugar is the new rage. Tomorrow eggs will be bad for you again.


That is a ridiculously ignorant comparison.
 
Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit


Originally Posted By: Turk
I eat way too much sugar.

- Can easily eat 1 Quart of Ice Cream per day.
- Can easily drink 2 cans of Pop a day.
- Then all the other stuff that has sugar in it.

Oh, my Step-Daughter just brought me home a McFlurry from her work. LOL!!



So if you recognize that you consume way too much sugar, why don't you change your habits? A diet that included that much garbage is bound to cause health issues-I'm guessing that you're not exactly the picture of health.



Actually, I'm VERY healthy. Why would you say that? In my WHOLE LIFE, I only had this cancer incident, nothing else. Never been Hospitalized, no Diabetes, nothing. Only 4 cavities in 54 years. I can do anything. I feel 30ish.

So much for being alarmed about sugar.
smile.gif
 
Not everyone is as fortunate as Turk.
wink.gif


Personally I have found that it is at least as important to remove detrimental parts of our diet as it is to add helpful parts.

I agree with Shannow on the eggs and fats angle. There are many essential nutrients in naturally raised fatty foods.

Here is another study from 2012 y'all might find interesting, it takes some patience to read:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/jphysiol.2012.230078/full
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
sugar_brain.jpg


apparently pretty serious stuff: http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/what_does_sugar_do_to_the_brain.aspx

and this is no joke, studies from different groups agree about sugars causing dementia.


Yep. Proven associations.

My wife works regularly with dementia patients. Many of her Doctors are calling Alzheimers "Diabetes III" now!

Read the "Coconut Miracle" and visit this site "http://www.coconutketones.com/". There is a ton of promising research here, my wife worked with the patient involved and said it was amazing how it helped this poor man...
 
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Originally Posted By: Blkstanger
I have been eating a Paleo diet for the past six months. I found out I couldn't eat gluten. I was having bad stomach aches and found gluten was the cause. Pretty much all the sugar I get comes naturally. Also lost 20 lbs. BTW this is a very easy diet.
Gluten bothers many people.
 
Cut back on most sugars (except fruit) and drastically lowered my sodium intake starting about 1.5 years ago. Never felt better!

I pretty much drink water, coffee (with light creamer), no-sugar-added fruit juice or beer.

If I drink a soda, I feel sick. If I have some pie/cake/whatever sweet ... I feel sick.

I have myself a fruit smoothie every morning, along with my egg whites and refried beans. Lunch is usually some sort of lean meat and brown rice ... or lean meat, brown rice and beans.

Sitting at a desk all day has me worried about picking up high blood sugar. Hopefully, by consuming very few sugars I'll hold off on that ... and other health problems that come up from not eating healthy and sitting at a desk.

I also do 35-40 minutes of cardio a day or go for a good bike ride.
 
Originally Posted By: Turk


Actually, I'm VERY healthy. Why would you say that? In my WHOLE LIFE, I only had this cancer incident, nothing else. Never been Hospitalized, no Diabetes, nothing. Only 4 cavities in 54 years. I can do anything. I feel 30ish.

So much for being alarmed about sugar.
smile.gif




you had ONLY cancer?
i would be alarmed about sugar: http://www.chrisbeatcancer.com/sugary-drinks-increase-cancer-recurrence-death/
 
Refined sugar intake in moderation would not be a big issue normally. The problem is that it is disproportionately in our diets because of its feel-good nature (some may say addictive qualities). The brain needs energy from carbs, and sugar can be that.

Too much of it will create inflammation and cause all kinds of problems.
 
One other thing you might consider. Instead of fruit drinks, especially fake ones with water, artificial flavors and sugar with little real fruit content, just eat the raw fruit instead. That way you'll get the nutrients that otherwise get left behind and you can skip the extra sugars.

Usually when food gets modified in any way it's for shelf life or some other purpose that does nothing good for its nutrient value. Real food does not usually need to be fixed or improved or sugared/salted up unless you've developed a taste for such food substitutes.

When I was a kid a long, long time ago before cell phones and 200 channels on the TV, catsup had no added sugar. Today major brands have about 4 grams of sugar for each tablespoon. Have you ever had an order of french fries and used only one tablespoon of catsup?

Some off brands of catsup had 6 to 10 grams of sugar per tablespoon.

Also some catsup in individual packets has the equivalent of 15 grams of sugar per tablespoon. Ouch! And some of these packets had less than 5% actual real tomato content. The rest was flavoring and "stuff".

Good nutrition can be more expensive in the short run but a screaming good deal in the long run.
 
i'm reading some more and it appears most of the bad effects are coming from fructose rather than glucose. this is why high-fructose corn syrup is especially bad. regular sucrose also contains 50% fructose. unfortunately, many fruits contain huge amounts of fructose.

fructose also increases uric acid. this explains why i had bad gout attacks couple of times when i visited my folks who grow various fruits in their garden/orchard.
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Corn syrup is cheaper to manufacture. The side effects are your problem if you're willing to eat it.


sure, except for the fact it's used extensively in processed and served food. sometimes hard to avoid short of going overseas (HFCS is strictly US thing due to US corn subsidies).
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Corn syrup is cheaper to manufacture. The side effects are your problem if you're willing to eat it.


sure, except for the fact it's used extensively in processed and served food. sometimes hard to avoid short of going overseas (HFCS is strictly US thing due to US corn subsidies).


The answer is figure out how keep that stuff out of your diet. If in doubt about something, don't eat it. I know it's tough because it's hidden in so many ingredients. We as a nation are hooked on sugar and salt, both cheap and found in everything processed.

Good food is sometimes more expensive in the short run and a really good deal in the long run.
 
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
I'm going to have some Happy Camper ice cream from Stewart's, and I can stop any time I want...
Until that monkey jumps on you back forcing you to take the next step... More ice cream. I know how it is.
 
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
Isnt sugar what they feed the comatose inhospitals?

If so, could it be a basis of life?

Like, possibly having a diet low in H20?


Sugar itself is not the basis of life. You need a range of blood sugar, that does not necessarily come from pure sugar or hfcs.

You need some carbohydrates to maintain a blood suger( we are talking about non diabetics here). A lot of those carbs can come from fruit and vegetables.
We don't need anywhere near the amount of sugar in our diets, that most people consume.
Drop all the sodas, reduce the processed white breads and use of bleached flour.
Let your carbs come from good sources like canalope, bananas, and more complex carbs.

Pure sugar is in everything from catsup to pork & beans, steak sauces, coffee additives etc.
Some pure sugar at times is okay, say a bowl of ice cream. The problem lies when you have sodas, sweet tea, all the sauces with sugar and white breads, buscuits, iced coffees, donuts.
Then the desserts.
Limit your intake of these simple sugar sources , so you can enjoy a piece of cake or ice cream , without having to worry.
 
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Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Corn syrup is cheaper to manufacture. The side effects are your problem if you're willing to eat it.


sure, except for the fact it's used extensively in processed and served food. sometimes hard to avoid short of going overseas (HFCS is strictly US thing due to US corn subsidies).


Interesting..when I travel to the US I have notice the Coke tastes very different. Saw Corn sugar listed in the ingredients, but back home its not listed on the Coke can. Cane sugar is listed. (not that that is good for you)
 
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