{"id":11102,"date":"2012-09-13T19:33:57","date_gmt":"2012-09-13T23:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2012\/09\/stressing-the-brain-this-is-your-brain-on-sugar-fructose-and-alcohol--not-pretty.html"},"modified":"2017-11-29T09:17:34","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T14:17:34","slug":"stressing-the-brain-this-is-your-brain-on-sugar-fructose-and-alcohol-not-pretty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2012\/09\/stressing-the-brain-this-is-your-brain-on-sugar-fructose-and-alcohol-not-pretty\/","title":{"rendered":"This is your brain on sugar, fructose, and alcohol–not pretty"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brain on Sugar<\/u><\/b>:<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

It tastes good, but a moment on the lips, forever on the
\nhips…hippocampus in the brain that is! Did you know that consuming too much sugar
\ncan make you less intelligent and forgetful! Unfortunately, it’s true!<\/p>\n

Sugar has been linked to imbalances in the inflammatory
\ncascade. This causes heart and vasculature congestion, nutrient deficiencies,
\nand heightened arousal (via activating the release of chemicals involved in the
\nstress response). <\/p>\n

When your body is stressed out physically or emotionally,
\nthe higher functioning of reason is clicked off as your emotional brain for
\nsurvival is clicked on! The following article in Medscape recently discussed
\nsugar effects on the brain: <\/p>\n

High
\nblood glucose levels can affect the brain through various mechanisms, perhaps
\nthe most likely being fallout from inflammatory processes, according to Dr.
\nCherbuin. “Higher glucose levels trigger an anti-inflammatory cascade. We
\nknow this is not good for the brain, and particularly [is] not good for the
\nhippocampus, which is sensitive to environmental stresses, whether inside the
\nbody or coming from outside.”<\/i><\/p>\n

Another
\npossible mechanism is abnormal blood coagulation. High glucose levels may lead
\nto abnormal coagulation, thereby increasing the likelihood of thrombosis,
\nmicroemboli, and clinical and subclinical strokes, which are risk factors for
\nbrain aging.<\/i><\/p>\n

Psychological
\nstress could be another culprit. Stress is associated with increased activation
\nof the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and this activation has been
\nlinked to increased glucose levels.<\/i><\/p>\n

Source: Pauline Anderson. Even High Normal Blood Glucose
\nLinked to Brain Atrophy. From Medscape Medical News: Neurology. 9\/5\/12. http:\/\/www.medscape.com\/viewarticle\/770353?src=mpnews<\/p>\n

Fructose on the
\nbrain<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Now we know that
\nsugar effects memory negatively, but did you also know it makes pain hard to
\nforget?<\/p>\n

One abstract from
\nthe European J of Pharmacology demonstrated that mice that were given pre-morphine
\nadministration of glucose or fructose had less pain control. The researchers
\nconcluded that these sugars had a direct effect on central nervous systems
\nfeedback mechanisms, with fructose blocking anti-pain receptors more than
\nglucose. (Yet another reason to avoid soda!)<\/p>\n

Source: Lux F, Brase DA, Dewey WL. Antagonism of
\nantinociception in mice by glucose and fructose: comparison of subcutaneous and
\nintrathecal morphine.Eur J Pharmacol. 1988 Feb 9;146(2-3):337-40. http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/3371404<\/a><\/p>\n

\nMind Effects of Alcohol<\/u><\/b><\/p>\n

Sugar, fructose, and alcohol make for an anxious brain. This
\nmay be surprising with society’s misconception that drinking can “calm the
\nnerves.” <\/p>\n

A recent article in Science daily provided important
\ninformation on how alcohol modulates people’s ability to process feelings.
\nSpecifically, alcohol has blunting effects on areas in the brain related to emotional
\nprocessing, anxiety, and healing from trauma.<\/p>\n

Although the methods of force feeding mice excess alcohol and
\nshocking them to produce PTSD- like- effects seem a little intense, the science
\ngave insight on specific pathways in the brain affected and proposes drugs
\nhitting these marks could help symptoms. I’d like to add that nutritional
\ndeficiencies and supplements affecting the same receptor should also be
\nconsidered! J<\/p>\n

The article states:<\/p>\n

The researchers traced the effect
\nto differences in the neural circuitry of the alcohol-exposed mice. Comparing
\nthe brains of the mice, researchers noticed nerve cells in the prefrontal
\ncortex of the alcohol-exposed mice actually had a different shape than those of
\nthe other mice. In addition, the activity of a key receptor, NMDA, was
\nsuppressed in the mice given heavy doses of alcohol.<\/p>\n

Holmes said the findings are
\nvaluable because they pinpoint exactly where alcohol causes damage that leads
\nto problems overcoming fear. “We’re not only seeing that alcohol has
\ndetrimental effects on a clinically important emotional process, but we’re able
\nto offer some insight into how alcohol might do so by disrupting the
\nfunctioning of some very specific brain circuits,” said Holmes.<\/p>\n

Understanding the relationship
\nbetween alcohol and anxiety at the molecular level could offer new
\npossibilities for developing drugs to help patients with anxiety disorders who
\nalso have a history of heavy alcohol use. “This study is exciting because
\nit gives us a specific molecule to look at in a specific brain region, thus
\nopening the door to discovering new methods to treat these disorders,”
\nsaid Kash.<\/p>\n

Source: University of North Carolina School of Medicine
\n(2012, September 2). Heavy drinking rewires brain, increasing susceptibility to
\nanxiety problems. ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 11, 2012, from http:\/\/www.sciencedaily.com\u00ad
\n\/releases\/2012\/09\/120902143143.htm<\/p>\n

Read more about the impact of healthy lifestyle and Brain Stress on my homepage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Brain on Sugar: It tastes good, but a moment on the lips, forever on the hips…hippocampus in the brain that is! Did you know that consuming too much sugar can make you less intelligent and forgetful! Unfortunately, it's…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[244,379,408,429,436,438,440,558,565,566,573,584,639,642,699,704,792,822,864,865,872,873,887,890,929,1226],"class_list":["post-11102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-diet","tag-foods-and-diet","tag-functional-medicine-and-ballston-spa-ny","tag-functional-medicine-doctor-and-albany-ny","tag-functional-medicine-doctor-and-saratoga-ny","tag-functional-medicine-doctor-and-schenectady-ny","tag-functional-medicine-practicioner-and-ballston-spa-ny","tag-holistic","tag-holistic-doctor-and-albany-ny","tag-holistic-doctor-and-ballston-spa-ny","tag-holistic-doctor-and-saratoga-ny","tag-holistic-medicine","tag-integrative-doctor-and-albany-ny","tag-integrative-doctor-and-clifton-park-ny","tag-lyme-disease","tag-lyme-prevention","tag-natural","tag-natural-fat-loss","tag-naturopathic-doctor-and-albany","tag-naturopathic-doctor-and-albany-ny","tag-naturopathic-doctor-and-clifton-park","tag-naturopathic-doctor-and-clifton-park-ny","tag-naturopathic-doctor-and-saratoga","tag-naturopathic-doctor-and-saratoga-springs-ny","tag-nutritional","tag-weight-loss"],"yoast_head":"\r\nThis is your brain on sugar, fructose, and alcohol-not pretty - Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/living-well\/2012\/09\/stressing-the-brain-this-is-your-brain-on-sugar-fructose-and-alcohol-not-pretty\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This is your brain on sugar, fructose, and alcohol-not pretty - Living Well In Saratoga Springs NY: Saratoga's Holistic Health Forum Blog\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Brain on Sugar: It tastes good, but a moment on the lips, forever on the hips...hippocampus in the brain that is! 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