Even though I’ve written about Alzheimer’s before, a dear classmate asked about it a few days ago so I dug a bit further into it. It turns out that fructose, particularly High Fructose Corn Syrup is a major culprit in Alzheimer’s also.
Fructose is added to many of our foods and drinks. And it is produced in our own brains, which seem especially keen to generate its own fructose if we consume too much of the sugar. Unfortunately, excessive fructose in the brain may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, say scientist based at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
“In essence, we propose that Alzheimer’s disease is a modern disease driven by changes in dietary lifestyle in which fructose can disrupt cerebral metabolism and neural function,” says Richard J. Johnson, MD, a professor of medicine at the above-mentioned University. In a paper he recently wrote, Dr. Johnson suggests that inhibition of intracerebral fructose metabolism could provide a novel way to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease.
According to Johnson and colleagues, fructose metabolism in the brain is related to a survival mechanism. This mechanism, which lowers energy, that is, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in cells in association with adenosine monophosphate (AMP) degradation to uric acid, protects against starvation by stimulating foraging behavior and reducing energy and oxygen demands. It can, however, be overactivated if too much fructose is consumed.
“Chronic stimulation in the brain leads to mitochondrial oxidative-stress and local inflammation and a progressive reduction in cerebral energy levels.” The paper’s authors wrote.
Overactive fructose metabolism, which involves an enzyme called ketohexokinase C (KHK-C) sets off a chain of adverse developments; glucose hypometabolism, increased oxidative stress, a progressive loss of mitochondria, and eventually neuronal dysfunction and death.
There are other complicated scientific points that the authors make but I won’t go into that.
The paper’s authors noted that when fructose metabolism is overactivated systematically, such as from excessive intake, the consequences may include metabolic syndrome, obesity, and diabetes – conditions that are associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Although Alzheimer’s disease may occur in the absence of these conditions, the paper’s authors suspect that Alzheimer’s and these other conditions may have underlying mechanisms in common, mechanisms that involve fructose.
“Many risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease activate endogenous fructose metabolism…If the fructose pathway is key for the development of Alzheimer’s disease, one might expect some evidence of a relationship between conditions associated with endogenous fructose production with the development of dementia.”
By outlining of consistent evidence, the scientists are hoping to inspire researchers to continue exploring the relationship between fructose in the brain and Alzheimer’s disease. New treatments aimed at inhibiting intracerebral fructose metabolism could provide a novel way to prevent and treat this disease.
Guard your self beforehand my friends, stop consuming this terrible sweetener, which is being promoted by BIG AGRO.
That’s it for now; see you all the next time.
