We gobble up an enormous amount of sugar, whether consciously or otherwise. Added sugar is the single worst ingredient in the urban diet. There are different kinds and ways your body influxes them all. Some consider it hazardous while others believe it’s the sweetest thing available on the planet. So what exactly does sugar do to our brains that make it so, well addictive? Overeating, poor memory formation, learning disorders, depression — all have been linked in recent research to the over-consumption of sugar. Here’s a look at how sugary things are playing a role in our brain.

Fructose is a simple sugar naturally found in fruit, sweet vegetables and in virtually all sweeteners — table sugar, maple syrup and honey. A high-fructose diet is unhealthy and it leads to metabolic endotoxemia, toxins in the bloodstream caused by the breakdown of brain cells. The key word in all of the stats is “added.” While a healthy diet would contain an adequate amount of naturally occurring sugar (in fruits and grains, for example), the problem is that we’re chronically consuming much more added sugar in processed foods, generally in the rapidly absorbed form of fructose.

1. Lowers Production Of A Brain Chemical Called BDNF

Research indicates that a diet high in added sugar reduces the production of a brain chemical known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Without BDNF, our brains can’t form new memories and we can’t learn much of anything. Levels of BDNF are particularly low in people with an impaired glucose metabolism and as the amount of BDNF decreases, sugar metabolism worsens.

2. Dulls The Brain’s Mechanism

Chronic consumption of added sugar dulls the brain’s mechanism for telling you to stop eating and starts seeking out snacks at mid-night. When we eat foods that contain a lot of sugar, a massive amount of dopamine is released in an area of the brain. In the brain, excess sugar impairs both our cognitive skills and self-control; throughout the body, excess sugar causes dangerous elevations in blood glucose and blood vessel damage.

3. Hinders Learning And Memory

A diet high in fructose (that’s just another word for sugar) hinders learning and memory by literally slowing down the brain. Chronically high blood sugar levels have also been linked to inflammation in the brain. Most adults experience a kind of mental fog from eating excessive sugar, not to mention the sugar high and the sugar crash. Many sweet treats are loaded with so much glucose that it floods your body, lending you a quick and dirty high. Your brain counters by shooting out serotonin, a sleep-regulating hormone.

4. Leads To Anxiety And Other Conditions

Excessive sugar consumption may cause or contribute to depression and anxiety. If you’ve ever experienced a sugar crash, then you know that sudden peaks and drops in blood sugar levels can cause you to experience symptoms like irritability, mood swings, and brain fog. That’s because eating a sugar-laden donut or drinking heavy soda causes blood sugar levels to spike upon consumption and then plummet. When your blood sugar inevitably dips back down (hence the “crash”), you may find yourself feeling anxious, moody, or depressed.

These linkages point to a problem that is only beginning to be better understood: what our chronic intake of added sugar is doing to our brains.

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