Anyone who’s read Sweet Poison would agree that you’d have to be pretty stupid to eat sugar. But research published this month in Diabetes Care establishes a direct link between consuming fructose and ‘impaired cognitive function’. Put more directly, sugar makes you stupid.
2,977 people suffering from Type II Diabetes, aged 55 years and older took part in the study. They were subjected to a 30-minute battery of tests designed to measure things such as how fast they performed calculations and how well they multi-tasked. Some of the tests also measured the accuracy of their memory.
The tests are part of a standardised set used for detecting early signs of dementia.
The researchers then compared the results of the tests to measures of each person’s average blood glucose reading over time. They found that there was a significant correlation between a person’s score on the tests and their blood sugar level. The higher the blood sugar level, the lower their score on all the tests. Just to put icing on the cake, the researchers noted that a one per cent rise in blood sugar takes you two years closer to dementia!
In the book I outline a series of studies which establish definitively that fructose causes elevated blood sugar levels and leads to Type II Diabetes as a direct result. But I know you only want the latest research hot from the labs, so here is yet another human study that establishes this lovely property of fructose (and therefore sugar) beyond a shadow of a doubt.
The study’s lead author Karen L. Teff, PhD, a metabolic physiologist, summarised one of her findings by saying “Fructose can cause even greater elevations of triglyceride levels in obese insulin-resistant individuals, worsening their metabolic profiles and further increasing their risk for diabetes and heart disease.” – translation: “Fructose increases circulating blood fats making you more likely to have heart disease and diabetes and it is even worse if you are already obese or pre-diabetic”.
So there you have it, yet another reason to avoid sugar. Not only does it give you Type II diabetes, it also makes you thick (that’s the technical term) and accelerates your journey towards dementia … Bon Appétit!
New T-shirt please –
“Sugar makes you Fat AND Stupid”
I’d wear it! 🙂
Keep up the fantastic work!
Warm regards, Fiona
Thats a good one Fiona and another “Top of the Pops” article David. Surely that will convince the “unbelievers”
But I am not sure if all the “nothin sweet about” me T Shirts are all out there working yet Fiona.He (our fearless leader) might need the cash in before a new venture.