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The Not-So-Sweet Truth

On October 20, 2015

Trick-or-treaters excitedly hoard candy every Halloween, aware of its dangers to the extent that sugar causes cavities. However, sugar’s stealth effects extend far beyond tooth decay. Research shows that consuming high-concentrations of sugar slows down brain function and is detrimental to both physical and mental health. Continuing overindulgences in sugar-laden products may even lead to Alzheimer’s disease. Children, teenagers, and adults need to understand the damages that a high-fructose diet could cause in order to avoid sugar.

Lower your diet of high fructose corn syrup!

For consumers, sugar is extremely difficult to avoid since it is found in most processed foods in the form of honey, sucrose, and high fructose corn syrup. As soon as sugar is consumed and absorbed into the body, it causes the brain to release hormones, such as dopamine, that generate good feelings. The good feelings from the release of dopamine are temporary. Once the high sugar level in the bloodstream drops, feelings of depression, irritability, or fatigue take over. Sugar thus stimulates the body to intensely crave for more sugar intake.

In addition to affecting the hormones, research shows that sugar-heavy diets causes changes in gut bacteria, which makes the brain’s ability to adapt and switch to new concepts more difficult to comprehend. The gut bacteria influences the way the brain functions, so any change in this type of bacteria is unhealthy for neurological health. The level of sugar intake and cognitive abilities are interconnected; therefore, restricting sugar from entering the bloodstream is an intelligent dietary choice.

The negative consequences of diets high in sugar have been studied and the conclusive evidence shows that sugar is toxic to good health. Scientists conducted experiments on a group of rats to prove that sugar consumption hinders the ability to effectively think. One group was given normal water to drink, while the other group was given a fructose-infused water to drink for six weeks. After the six weeks, the rats were timed to see how fast they could escape a maze. The group that drank the sugar water took thirty percent longer than the group that drank plain water. The researchers ultimately concluded that fructose disrupts plasticity: the brain’s ability to retain short-term and long-term memories and generate new ideas using new information.

It is important for everyone to be aware of the harmful effects that sugar has on the human body. Cavities should not be the thing people worry about when they eat candy, as they are petty compared to the dangers sugar has on the brain. Sugar weakens mental and physical health, and should be avoided like the death it could cause.

Original Article

Artificial Sweeteners: Safe or Sweet Misery?

By kation

On September 26, 2014

In Student Post

Picture of Splenda

Have you ever drunk a zero-calorie soda or eaten a sugar free dessert as a “healthier” choice or perhaps to even “cut calories”? If you’re like me, you have probably begrudgingly done this numerous times, maybe even at the request of your mom, despite your desire for that sweet snack. Well, new research has been conducted that suggests that the artificial sweeteners used to substitute sugar actually increase blood sugar levels-the exact condition they aim to avoid.

A study conducted by biologists, Segal and Elinav, of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, showed that after 11 weeks of drinking water with the sweetener Saccharin, commonly found in Sweet’N Low, mice had higher glucose levels in their bloodstream, a symptom of diabetes. Additionally, the scientists conducted another experiment with seven volunteers who were given the maximum approved daily dose of saccharin for a week. This time Segal and Elinav found that four out of the seven subjects developed an unbalanced glucose metabolism similar to that of the mice. From this experiment, the scientists hypothesized that artificial sweeteners negatively affect our bodies and may promote disease.

Although these results are preliminary and are largely reflective of mice’s digestive systems rather than humans, the study raises a valuable caution for consumers to reassess their actions. As the science community continues to explore this study, are you going to continue consuming foods with artificial sweeteners.

For more information about the dangers of artificial sweeteners, please check out: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/artificial-sweeteners-may-disrupt-bodys-blood-sugar-controls/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Artificial Sugars Causing Health Problems

By gergory

On September 23, 2014

In Student Post

Examples of Artificial Sugars

When people consume artificial sugars, they are usually doing so instead of consuming regular sugar. Scientists have studied the artificial sugar Saccharin in mice and some humans, and have recorded that intaking the sugar leads to obesity and Diabetes. Although the research is relatively recent, scientists recorded that 4 of 7 people with high Saccharine intakes have experienced impaired glucose metabolism, which is a symptom for Type II Diabetes.

Until recently, artificial sugars have been seen as viable alternatives to real sugar. Unlike natural sugar, artificial sugars such as Saccharine have no calories and are in beverages such as Diet Coke. Recently, however, scientists have begun to realize that artificial sugar may not be as harmless as expected, and may even be more damaging than natural sugars.

Scientists studied the intake of artificial sugars with mice. They noticed that over the course of 11 weeks, both skinny and fat mice had abnormally high glucose levels in their blood. Although scientists tested the mice for various types of artificial sugars, they noticed that one kind in particular affected the mice, Saccharin. They then tested mice again, while only feeding them high levels of Saccharin in their diet, and in only 5 weeks were able to see a difference in the glucose levels in the mice.

Next, the scientists studied microbes in mice’s intestines. The scientists noticed that the microbes in mice without Saccharin in their diets and mice with Saccharin in their diets varied greatly.

Although it is not known why Saccharin has such an effect on mice, scientists continued the study on to humans and found similar results. They studied 40 people with high Saccharin intakes and compared them to 236 people who do not intake Saccharin noticed that people who intake Saccharin have more of a tendency to have “impaired glucose metabolism.” Even healthy people who begin to intake Saccharine almost immediately begin to experience different glucose metabolism.

The reason why I chose this article is because the use of Artificial Sugars has always fascinated me. I have always been skeptical about drinking Diet Coke and other zero-calorie drinks because they seemed too good to be true. This article answered those questions for me. How do you feel about Artificial Sugars, such as Saccharin, after reading this?

Scientist Cathryn Nagler stated:”We have to respect the power of the microbiota. We need to step back and see what we are doing.”

Article Link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/artificial-sweeteners-may-tip-scales-toward-metabolic-problems

S U G A R !

By yazzairbik1294

On March 7, 2012

In Student Post

Mmm, sugar, so yummy…

Dr. David Katz, the director at the Yale Prevention Research Center writes of the negative effects of sugar in our lives in his article “Medicine, Museums, and Spoons Full of Sugar.” It’s a fact: kids and adults are eating way too much sugar, and this excess is known to contribute to the obesity epidemic. Obesity itself causes other complications like diabetes and other diseases.

We’ve always known that having too much sugar is a bad thing, but how does it all add up? Soda like Coke, Sprite and Fanta are regarded by some public health experts as “liquid candy.” Soda adds tons of calories and sugar to a typical diet. So there you have it: soda is one of the many guilty culprits in the add up of sugar.

Taken by Yasmin Kibria

That’s only part of the problem–most of the excess sugar actually comes from foods. “A how much is too much? According to Dr. Andrew Weil, everyone has a different response to sugar. For some it triggers modd swings, brings on a sugar rush followed by a crash, and for some, there are no noticeable effects. Sugar tends to drive obesity, high blood pressure, and Type II diabetes in people who are genetically programmed to develop insulin resistance.

How does too much sugar lead to obesity? According to Dr. Robert Lustig, sugar causes more insulin resistance in the liver than does other foods. The pancreas then has to release more insulin to satisfy the liver’s needs. High insulin levels obstruct the brain from receiving signals form leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells.

Sugar Motivates You.

By sar418

On February 27, 2012

In Student Post

Dumdums by Linuxerist

A study from a few years ago created a theory called The Energy Model of Self Control. This stated that willpower lessens as your brain lacks sugars, that it previously used for provious exertions. Basically, once you perform a task that requires motivation, you will have a harder time completing the following task that requires motivation, because you have used up the sugars that allow you motivate yourself.

Daniel Molden, a scientist from Nothwestern University, was skeptical of such claims. He recently recreated the study and used more technologically advanced machines, to measure the results. What he found was that the claim that once you perform a task that requires willpower, you will have a harder time to perform the following task that demands that same. He then challenged that “acts of self-control lower blood glucose levels.” After performing a self motivated task, volunteers rinse with either a sugar-water solution or an artificial sugar-water solution. In the previous research, subjects had to eat or drink sugar, to experience the effects. The results showed that participants that rinsed with the real sugar-water solution were able to motivate themselves for the next task, whereas volunteers that rinsed with what tasted like a sugar-water solution, but actually contained no sugar, were not able to self-motivate themselves. The results also showed that the sugar didn’t need to be metabolized, as the results were immediate. Molden and partners have concluded that the mouth can register the presence of carbohydrates in the solution and then signals the brain that energy is coming. The dopamine system motivates the brain to work harder. “In short, the sugar motivates — rather than fuels — willpower.” These scientists have decided that self-control is a lack of motivation, and can be restored with a simple sugar rinse.

Different things motivate different people, some people just need a goal and they’ll do whatever it takes to reach it. I myself am very bad at motivating myself todo work and have no self-control to see to it that I complete what needs to be done. For a person like me, this is very interesting, and something I will definitely try in the future! Will you try rinsing your mouth with sugar and water to keep yourself motivated?

Photo: CC Liscensed photo by Linuxerist

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: sugar

The Not-So-Sweet Truth

Artificial Sweeteners: Safe or Sweet Misery?

Artificial Sugars Causing Health Problems

S U G A R !

Sugar Motivates You.

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