The Not So Sweet Effects Of Sugar

You likely know how incredibly important prenatal nutrition is for fetal brain development, but too few parents realize that diet still plays an important role in brain health well beyond this. Children's brains are rapidly changing and responding not only to their environment and experiences but also to the foods they eat. The foods you feed your child could make a huge impact on their short-term behaviour and their long-term brain development. One important food category to limit because of its potentially damaging effects on your child's brain is sugar.

You may have heard that sugar leads to temporary hyperactivity in children, but this isn't the whole picture. While sugar can absolutely cause immediate behavioural problems, the far more insidious nature of this food is the harmful impact it has on brain development. There are several concerning effects scientists have discovered that should make you think twice before handing your child a bowl of frosted sugar-laden cereal.

Adults and children alike love sugar. This is primarily because eating sugar releases a large dose of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a "feel-good" hormone associated with reward and pleasure. When children are repeatedly exposed to high-dopamine triggers like sugar, however, it can eventually lead to issues like poor impulse control and even more troublesome conditions like ADHD. Dopamine dependence from overexposure to substances that give a quick and powerful rush of pleasure is the same problem that arises with addictions. Some researchers have even labelled sugar as a highly-addictive substance because of this.

Unfortunately, this isn't the only threat sugar can pose to your child's brain health. A high-sugar diet is also known to contribute to insulin resistance. Since insulin is needed to allow glucose to enter cells to be used for energy, insulin resistance will make glucose accumulate outside of the cells and spike blood sugar levels. This is a huge concern because chronically high blood sugar can disrupt the blood-brain barrier and lead to inflammation inside of the brain. Children are especially vulnerable to inflammation since it can negatively impact normal brain development.

Sugar is thought to be specifically inflammatory to a portion of the brain called the hippocampus. The hippocampus is important for learning and memory so damage caused by inflammation in this area could potentially worsen your child's cognitive abilities. There are also plenty of studies reporting that damage to the hippocampus region increases a child's risk of experiencing depression and anxiety later in life.

If all of this information seems intimidating and overwhelming, you can join the club! Every parent wants to do what's best for their child, and learning about nutrition and brain health is the first step towards making the best choices possible for your family. There are many actions you can take to reduce the impact of sugar on your child's diet and support healthy brain development. Learning how to plan meals and snacks that don't spike your child's blood sugar is a helpful skill to build into your daily habits. This will pay dividends down the road by supporting both immediate mood stability and energy, as well as long-term health.

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