Sugary treats mess with your mind

SUGAR shrinks our brains and messes up our memories, a dementia prevention charity has warned.

In the 1980s, sugar was thought to give you extra energy and Lucozade, a liquid form of glucose, was advertised as “energy for the human race”.

But new studies are showing that too much glucose and fructose over time starve the brain of energy, leading to both memory loss and brain shrinkage, says the charity foodforthebrain.org.

These two sugars interfere with the energy factories within cells, called mitochondria, and deprive the brain of the energy it needs to function properly.

A new study shows that 40-year-old adults with so-called normal glucose levels, but at the higher end of the normal range, increased their risk of Alzheimer’s by 15%.

And teenagers with an HbA1c – the measure of blood sugar levels – of above 5.4% show cognitive decline and shrinkage of the brain compared to those with lower levels, according to Robert Lustig, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco.

“Keeping your HbA1c below 5.4% with a no-added sugar diet, and for some a lowcarbohydrate diet, is one of the most direct ways you can protect your brain at any age,” says Prof Lustig.

Patrick Holford, CEO of foodforthebrain.org, said: “We are calling for people to test their cognitive function with our free online test.”