skyrocketing rates of type 2 diabetes. (Now is probably a
good time to question whether fructose-dominant
sweeteners like agave syrup—90 percent fructose—are
really the right choice for health-conscious individuals or
diabetics.)
The combined effects of fructose may add up to altered
gene expression in the brain. In a study out of UCLA, rats
were given the amount of fructose equivalent to drinking a
one-liter bottle of soda every day.^22 After six weeks, they
began to show typical derangements: they had escalating
levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, and insulin, and their
cognition began to break down. Compared to mice fed only
water, the fructose-drinking mice took double the time to
find their way out of a maze. But what surprised the
researchers most was that close to one thousand genes in the
brains of the fructose-fed rats were altered. These weren’t
genes for cute pink noses and fuzzy whiskers—they were
comparable to genes in humans, having links to Parkinson’s
disease, depression, bipolar disorder, and others. The degree
of gene disruption was so profound, head researcher
Fernando Gomez-Pinilla commented in the UCLA release:
“Food is like a pharmaceutical compound” in terms of its
effect on the brain. But that power also swings in the other
direction—the negative impact that fructose had on both
cognition and gene expression was attenuated by feeding
the rats DHA omega-3 fat.
Avoiding the stresses imposed on the brain by excess
sugar consumption may be an empowering leverage point
for the 5.3 million Americans suffering from traumatic brain
injury. A diet high in fructose impaired the plasticity of rat