Sugars are sweet, but too much sugar will not be 'sweet' to the body-including the brain.
Scientists in New Zealand have found preliminary evidence that simple sugars like glucose can interfere with cognitive abilities, abilities that include mental activity (brain).
The study, published in the journal Physiology & Behavior found that sweeteners containing glucose have an impact on decreased attention and response time.
"I am amazed by how the senses affect behavior and affect our daily lives," said study author Mei Peng, a sensory science lecturer at Otago University.
"In particular, how sugar consumption can change the way our brain works. In the case of sweet perception, we have evolved to love this flavor. "
Previous research on glucose consumption has linked it with memory enhancement. However, studies that examine the effects of glucose on cognitive processes provide mixed results.
In a recent study, 49 people consumed sweet drinks containing glucose, sucrose, fructose, or sucralose (artificial sweeteners) before completing three cognitive tests.
Three tests consist of assignments for simple response times, arithmetic processing, and Stroop effects, aimed at seeing one's psychological abilities.
The researchers also measured participants' blood sugar levels during the test.
They found that participants who consumed glucose or sucrose tended to do worse cognitive tests than those who consumed fructose or sucralose.
The human body converts sucrose into glucose and fructose. But unlike glucose, fructose does not cross the blood-brain barrier.
"Our study shows that 'sugar coma' - which is related to glucose - is a real phenomenon, where the level of attention decreases after the consumption of sugar containing glucose," Peng told PsyPost.
This effect was reinforced by participants who fasted for 10 hours before the study.
Researchers acknowledge that the size of the study sample is relatively small, but the observed effects are considerable. Therefore, he suggested further research should measure how far the brain regions change after consuming sugar, using neuroimaging techniques.
"This will help us better understand how the decrease in attention arises after taking glucose," Peng said.
He continues, as food becomes more diverse, accessible and tasty-it is important to do more research in this area to understand food choices and eating behaviors.
The study titled 'The "sweet" effect: Comparative assessments of dietary sugars on cognitive performance was also co-written with Rachel Ginieis, Elizabeth A. Franz, and Indrawati Oey.
Scientists in New Zealand have found preliminary evidence that simple sugars like glucose can interfere with cognitive abilities, abilities that include mental activity (brain).
The study, published in the journal Physiology & Behavior found that sweeteners containing glucose have an impact on decreased attention and response time.
"I am amazed by how the senses affect behavior and affect our daily lives," said study author Mei Peng, a sensory science lecturer at Otago University.
"In particular, how sugar consumption can change the way our brain works. In the case of sweet perception, we have evolved to love this flavor. "
Previous research on glucose consumption has linked it with memory enhancement. However, studies that examine the effects of glucose on cognitive processes provide mixed results.
In a recent study, 49 people consumed sweet drinks containing glucose, sucrose, fructose, or sucralose (artificial sweeteners) before completing three cognitive tests.
Three tests consist of assignments for simple response times, arithmetic processing, and Stroop effects, aimed at seeing one's psychological abilities.
The researchers also measured participants' blood sugar levels during the test.
They found that participants who consumed glucose or sucrose tended to do worse cognitive tests than those who consumed fructose or sucralose.
The human body converts sucrose into glucose and fructose. But unlike glucose, fructose does not cross the blood-brain barrier.
"Our study shows that 'sugar coma' - which is related to glucose - is a real phenomenon, where the level of attention decreases after the consumption of sugar containing glucose," Peng told PsyPost.
This effect was reinforced by participants who fasted for 10 hours before the study.
Researchers acknowledge that the size of the study sample is relatively small, but the observed effects are considerable. Therefore, he suggested further research should measure how far the brain regions change after consuming sugar, using neuroimaging techniques.
"This will help us better understand how the decrease in attention arises after taking glucose," Peng said.
He continues, as food becomes more diverse, accessible and tasty-it is important to do more research in this area to understand food choices and eating behaviors.
The study titled 'The "sweet" effect: Comparative assessments of dietary sugars on cognitive performance was also co-written with Rachel Ginieis, Elizabeth A. Franz, and Indrawati Oey.
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