After 4 relatively easy days I've finally started to hit some obstacles. Yesterday at work multiple people brought in donuts. They smelled heavenly, thick globs of fried dough saturated with ooey gooey sticky sugar glaze. Our kitchen isn't sectioned off at work, it stretches along the hallway leading our cubes and offices to support staff so I had to constantly walk past the tempting treats.
While I was very proud to have kept to my resolution I apparently wasn't done being tempted yet. Last night my dreams consisted off large buffet style dessert tables weighed down with every treat imaginable. I can't remember if I indulged in my dream but at some point the dream me did remember my resolution and I was so bummed out.
I really have to up my motivation and will power so here's a study posted on Mind Body Green about the negative effects of sugar: Sugar Can Make You Dumb.
"Eating too much sugar can eat away at your brainpower, according to US scientists who published a study Tuesday showing how a steady diet of high-fructose corn syrup sapped lab rats' memories.
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) fed two groups of rats a solution containing high-fructose corn syrup -- a common ingredient in processed foods -- as drinking water for six weeks.
One group of rats was supplemented with brain-boosting omega-3 fatty acids in the form of flaxseed oil and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), while the other group was not.
Before the sugar drinks began, the rats were enrolled in a five-day training session in a complicated maze. After six weeks on the sweet solution, the rats were then placed back in the maze to see how they fared.
"The DHA-deprived animals were slower, and their brains showed a decline in synaptic activity," said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
"Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats' ability to think clearly and recall the route they'd learned six weeks earlier."
....In other words, eating too much fructose could interfere with insulin's ability to regulate how cells use and store sugar, which is necessary for processing thoughts and emotions.
"Insulin is important in the body for controlling blood sugar, but it may play a different role in the brain, where insulin appears to disturb memory and learning," Gomez-Pinilla said.
"Our study shows that a high-fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body. This is something new. Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think," said Gomez-Pinilla.
"Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain's ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage."
Also!!! 14 Mind Blowing Facts About Sugar
Infographic from Total Health as posted by Mind Body Green
I am probably going to troll Mind Body Green all day for wellness tips and motivation, it's a beautifully designed website with tons of great articles and information and I'm glad I found it to help keep me on track towards my health goals. Anyone else have any inspiring health websites???
No comments:
Post a Comment