A new study suggests that limiting added sugar during the first 1,000 days of life may be linked to a lower risk of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, depression and anxiety decades later.
The first years of life are a period of remarkable growth, with the brain developing faster than at almost any other stage.
Scientists are increasingly exploring how nutrition during this early window can shape health far beyond childhood, potentially influencing the risk of disease many decades later.
According to a new study published in npj Aging and reported by Medical News Today, reducing exposure to added sugar during the first 1,000 days of life may have lasting benefits for brain health.
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The findings suggest that people with lower early-life sugar intake were less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, dementia, depression and anxiety as adults.
A unique opportunity
Researchers analysed health data from more than 60,000 participants in the UK Biobank.
They took advantage of a unique historical event by comparing people born before and after the end of sugar rationing in the United Kingdom in 1953, creating a natural experiment to examine the long-term effects of early sugar consumption.
Participants exposed to lower levels of added sugar during pregnancy and infancy showed substantially lower rates of Alzheimer's disease and all-cause dementia later in life, along with reduced risks of depression and anxiety.
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Possible explanation
Brain scans also revealed that those with lower sugar exposure early in life tended to have slightly younger-looking brains and greater volume in regions associated with memory and learning.
Researchers believe these findings may help explain why nutrition during early development could influence cognitive health and brain ageing many decades later.
More research needed
The study does not prove that sugar alone determines whether someone develops dementia. Genetics, lifestyle and other health factors remain important, and further research is needed to understand the relationship fully.
Even so, the findings add to growing evidence that nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood may play a far greater role in lifelong brain health than previously recognised.
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