Fructose consumption may be linked to Alzheimer's disease

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Researchers believe that the key to understanding the development and possible treatment of Alzheimer's disease lies in the consumption of sugar and fructose itself.

A new study warns that diet contributes to the development of Alzheimer's disease, and some types of sugar have a particularly noticeable negative effect on brain function – this was reported by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. According to the study published in it, the occurrence of dementia is closely related to the content of fructose in the body.

Fructose is a type of sugar that occurs naturally in fruits, fruit juices, some vegetables, and honey. The natural sweetener is also a major component of table sugar and corn syrup, which is used to flavor many processed foods and beverages. It is their active consumption, researchers believe, that contributes to the processes in the brain that lead to the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists have found that under the influence of fructose, metabolism decreases in various areas of the brain, blood flow to the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for self-control, as well as to the hippocampus and thalamus decreases. According to researchers, this reaction has its roots in the times of distant ancestors of people who had to survive in harsh conditions of food shortage. But for ancient people it provided an opportunity to save their lives, then in the world it is detrimental to the brain. Scientists attribute this to how the amount of fructose consumed has changed – today it is absorbed in high doses, present not only in berries or fruits.

“The survival reaction that helped ancient people now leads to overeating fatty and sweet foods, causing excessive production of fructose. “The chronic and persistent decrease in cerebral metabolism caused by repeated fructose metabolism contributes to progressive brain atrophy and neuronal loss with all the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease,” the researchers stated.

Their data suggest that high levels of fructose are found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. It is with its content that they link the inflammation that leads to the neuronal degeneration characteristic of dementia.