A research team from the University of Technology Sydney has discovered that the decline in memory quality induced by a high-sugar diet can be partially mitigated by adopting a healthier eating plan, though full recovery is not achieved. The findings from their systematic review and meta-analysis were published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience (NutriNeuro).
This project involved a meta-analysis of 27 prior preclinical studies conducted on mice and rats, which examined the impact of high-sugar and high-fat diets on cognitive functions. The researchers assessed the effects of switching from an unhealthy diet to a more balanced one, specifically how this transition influenced memory, motivation, and behavioral responses.
The analysis confirmed that transitioning the animals to a healthier diet led to improved memory performance compared to subjects that continued on diets high in sugar and fat. However, this recovery was incomplete; cognitive functions did not return to the level observed in rodents that had never been exposed to the “unhealthy” diet.
The most significant positive effect was observed when diets high in fat were replaced. In contrast, when there was an initial high intake of added sugar or a combination of sugar and fat, the restoration of cognitive functions was considerably weaker or entirely absent. The hippocampus, a brain region responsible for memory and learning, was found to be most detrimentally affected by excessive sugar consumption.
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