Every day we are bombarded with a series of attractive, clever, well-edited advertisements for a seemingly endless supply of sugary sodas and energy drinks. Meanwhile, a host of scientific studies have confirmed that excessive sugar consumption is linked to deadly diseases – such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes – later in life.
Now, totally new research reveals that high sugar levels adversely affect the gut microbiome – the community of trillions of gut bacteria that play a vital role in immune system health and metabolism. Not only that, but research suggests that excessive sugar consumption during adolescence reduces learning and memory performance in adulthood – a truly disturbing finding.
Sugary drinks during the early years have a detrimental effect on cognitive abilities later in life
In a study conducted jointly by researchers from the University of Georgia and the University of Southern California, and published last month in Translational Psychiatry, young rats were given an 11 percent sugar solution (equivalent to commercial sugary sodas consumed by humans) daily. . The rats were then subjected to memory tests in adulthood, where the researchers put them through their cognitive pace using hippocampus-dependent memory tasks, such as the ability to remember where familiar objects had previously appeared. (The hippocampus, critical for learning and memory, continues to develop into late adolescence in humans as well as in rodents). The researchers found that the rodents paid a cognitive price for a sugary diet in their youth. Rats that were fed sugar at an early age had an impaired ability to recognize that an object was new to a specific context – something rats that were not given sugar could do with ease. On another memory task, which did not involve the hippocampus, both sugar-fed and sugar-free rats performed equally well – indicating that sugar consumption at an early age appears to selectively affect learning and memory centered on the hippocampus. Although the research was only animal research, scientists say the genetic, biological and behavioral characteristics of rats are very similar to those of humans. For this reason, animal studies often confirm human studies.
Who is to blame? A particular type of harmful bacteria is associated with sugar and sugary drinks
Sugar encourages the presence of a type of bacteria known as Parabacteroides. This appears to be “bad news” for both the gut microbiome and cognitive abilities. "Sugar at an early age increased Parabacteroides levels, and the higher the Parabacteroides levels, the worse the animals performed on the task," said study author Emily Noble, an assistant professor in the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The team found that similar memory deficits occurred even when the bacterium Parabacteroides was experimentally introduced into the microbiome of rats that had never eaten sugar! This time, the rats showed impairment in both hippocampus-dependent and hippocampus-dependent memory tasks. "(The bacterium) introduced some cognitive deficits on its own," Noble explained. She said more research is needed to investigate how the gut-brain signaling system works and to learn more about the ability of Parabacteroides bacteria to alter brain development.
High sugar interferes with intestinal and brain signaling, promotes neurodegenerative diseases
Additional studies show that changes in gut bacteria are associated with neurodegenerative disease. In fact, a recent study by a group of Swiss and Italian researchers has shown that the by-products of intestinal bacteria can influence the development of amyloid plaque – a primary factor in Alzheimer's disease. Scientists report that sugar consumption at an early age causes changes in neurotransmitter pathways, or chemical messengers, that affect mood and cognition. As a result, excess sugar impairs both cognitive skills and self-control – while actually making hunger pangs worse. For some, the effect on the brain mimics that of addiction, leading to overconsumption and obesity. Even just one instance of elevated blood glucose can damage the brain, causing slowed cognitive function and impaired memory and attention. Finally, a diet high in added sugar reduces the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a brain chemical essential for the formation of new memory and learning.
The AAP warns that many children and teenagers consume amounts of sugar far in excess of medical recommendations
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issued jointly by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, advises limiting added sugars to less than 10 percent of daily calories. However, data show that many children and teenagers between the ages of 9 and 18 regularly exceed that amount. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that sugar makes up a shocking 17 percent of what kids consume each day—half of which comes from sugar-added beverages like soda, energy drinks, and fruit juices. It is clear that this costs national health. In a 2019 report, the AAP warned that high sugar consumption puts children at risk for a range of diseases – including obesity, tooth decay, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease.
Beware of hidden sugars
While checking food and beverage labels for added sugar is a good start, be aware: sometimes sugar hides under innocent-sounding names such as brown sugar, malt sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, honey dextrose, molasses, raw sugar, and aspartame. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) warns that anything ending in "-oze" - like fructose - is also a sugar tip. In addition to checking labels and advising children and teens to do the same, you can encourage them to seek out whole fruits to satisfy their sweet tooth. Whole fruit has the advantage of containing dietary fiber, disease-fighting antioxidants – and no added sugar. In 2019, the AAP and the American Heart Association released a joint call for public policies, such as excise taxes and more education, to reduce consumption of sugary drinks. Time will tell if this strategy will help discourage the nation's unhealthy addiction to sugar. That would be really "sweet".
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