Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Another Reason Why it May Be Hard to Give Up Sugar …



Here’s something I thought was true but wished it wasn’t – sugar may help reduce stress! In a study (J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 2015, doi:10.1210 /jc.2014-4353.) discussed in the June 2015 edition of the Nutrition Action Newsletter researchers found that subjects who were asked to drink a sugar-sweetened beverage 3 times a day for two weeks did better on a math test designed to cause stress than subjects who were asked to drink diet drinks. He study measured the subjects stress hormone levels as well as their brain activity. The conclusion of the study was that the subjects who drank the sugary drinks had lower cortisol levels and more hippocampus activity suggesting that they experienced less stress while taking the test. Now DON’T use this as an excuse to reach for sugar when you are stressed. Use it to understand why you may want to do so and go for a walk instead. Remember there are lots of ways to deal with stress – sugar is only one of them.

Until Next Time,
Dr. Sheila
www.DrSheilaForman.com
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