High Sucrose Diets

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Pages: 5

Whether it be natural sugars found in fruits, the sugar added to coffee, or hidden sugars in processed foods that consumers may not even be aware of, sugar can be found in nearly everything. While as a society, we may be aware that too much sugar in our diets may contribute to weight gain, we are less informed of the negative impact of sugar on our mental wellbeing. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between high sugar diets and the creation of both short and long term memories, based on the study conducted by Reichelt, Killcross, Hambly, Morris, and Westbrook (2015), while considering aspects of the course, textbook, and group discussions. The purpose of Reichelt, Killcross, Hambly, Morris, and Westbrook’s (2015) …show more content…
This finding suggests a relationship between high sucrose diets and an impairment of the prefrontal cortex; the location in the brain responsible for making appropriate decisions and managing social behaviours, among other functions (Social, emotional, and executive functioning, 2012). Additionally, researchers noted that the sucrose exposed rats performed at a lower level of functioning than the control group in “object-in-place” tasks, where recognition memory was required (2015). This potentially indicates a decline in functioning of the prefrontal cortex, as well as the hippocampus, which is the portion of the brain that is primarily responsible for creating and storing memories. Researchers concluded that high sucrose diets in adolescence may lead to a decreased ability to make appropriate decisions and create meaningful, long-lasting memories throughout …show more content…
Of those children who have Type 2 Diabetes, Hales and Lauzon (2015) state that approximately 95% are overweight or obese. However, diabetes can be prevented by maintaining a relatively healthy diet, among other methods. According to Hales and Lauzon (2015), Alzheimer’s disease, or “Type 3 Diabetes,” is a gradual deterioration of brain cells, as well as the loss of the ability to create new memories or learn new information. A generally healthy diet helps to promote the development of the body in a positive way, along with the development of a healthy, high-functioning brain (Pendleton, 2015); decreasing the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, and in turn, potentially even Alzheimer’s