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High fructose during pregnancy impairs stem cell function in the fetal brain
Eurekalert ^ | 07/02/2026 | International Society for Stem Cell Research

Posted on 07/03/2026 8:04:25 PM PDT by aimhigh

Nutritional imbalance during pregnancy can have long-lasting effects on the health status and disease susceptibility of the offspring. As such, high fructose intake through sweetened food and beverages in pregnant women has been associated with an increased susceptibility to diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as neurological and cognitive impairments in the offspring. Currently, it is not well understood how early life exposure to fructose has such long-lasting effects on the cellular and molecular level.

In a recent paper published in Stem Cell Reports, Hiroya Yamada’s team from Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Japan found that the performance of adult rats in learning and memory tests was impaired when the rats had been exposed to high fructose in before birth by feeding their mothers with high fructose corn syrup. Furthermore, neurogenesis, which is the generation of new neurons from neural stem cells (NSCs), in distinct regions of the brain involved in learning and cognition was reduced in those rats.

Further, Yamada’s group discovered distinct changes in NSCs after high fructose exposure, which included reduced cell division and impaired generation of new neurons, and altered gene expression. To explain why prenatal high fructose exposure can have such long-lasting effects on NSCs, the researchers profiled the so-called epigenetic changes, which are chemical imprints on the DNA controlling gene activity. Strikingly, prenatal high fructose exposure introduced distinct epigenetic changes in fetal NSCs which persisted into adulthood and which deregulated the activity of genes important for adult neurogenesis. Restoring normal expression of those genes improved the function of high fructose-exposed NSCs.

This research illustrates how early-life exposure to an adverse environment, e.g. an imbalanced maternal nutrition, can have long-lasting effects on brain development and function by changing the epigenetic regulation of gene activity in NSCs. Importantly, although epidemiological studies in human populations show similar correlations, further studies will be required to test if human NSCs are affected by high fructose and other environmental stressors in similar ways. “Our study suggests that neural stem cells may retain a biological memory of maternal nutrition during pregnancy," said Dr. Yamada. "This may help explain how a transient prenatal dietary imbalance can lead to long-lasting changes in brain development and function."


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: autism; fructose; pregnancy

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Autism connection?
1 posted on 07/03/2026 8:04:25 PM PDT by aimhigh
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To: aimhigh

So no ice cream?


2 posted on 07/03/2026 8:05:42 PM PDT by dfwgator ("I am Charlie Kirk!")
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To: aimhigh

All part of the plan.


3 posted on 07/03/2026 8:11:32 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Israel über alles.)
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To: aimhigh
Natural sugars contain free glucose, free fructose, and sucrose (which is itself one glucose molecule bonded to one fructose molecule). When sucrose is digested, it splits into equal parts glucose and fructose.

This means two very different sugar sources can end up with the same total fructose-equivalent number for very different reasons. Maple syrup and coconut sugar are almost entirely intact sucrose, so they show up as ~50% fructose-equivalent only after digestion breaks that bond. Honey and most fruit, by contrast, have already had much of their sucrose broken down naturally, so their fructose and glucose mostly exist as free monosaccharides rather than being locked inside sucrose. HFCS has no sucrose at all—it's manufactured as a direct blend of free fructose and glucose.

The table below separates free fructose, free glucose, and sucrose, then shows the total fructose-equivalent (free fructose + fructose's share from sucrose) that your body ultimately absorbs. Numbers are approximate and vary by source, ripeness, and variety.

Agave syrup/nectar was marketed for a while as a "healthy" sweetener alternative but it's among the worst. I've been using a blend of Allulose and Monk Fruit made by a company called "Lakanto." It's a pretty good sugar substitute.

SweetenerFree FructoseFree GlucoseSucroseTotal Fructose-EquivalentNotes
Agave syrup/nectar70-85%10-20%5-10%75-90%Highest fructose-equivalent on this list; wide reported range
Apples45-55%20-25%10-15%55-65%Mostly free sugars with some sucrose
HFCS-5555%45%0%55%Manufactured blend; no sucrose present
Sucrose (table sugar)0%0%100%50%Pure sucrose; splits 50/50 on digestion
Maple syrup~1%~1%~98%~50%Almost entirely intact sucrose
Coconut sugar3-9%3-9%70-80%~50%Mostly sucrose, similar to table sugar once digested
Grapes~45-50%~45-50%trace~50%Almost entirely free glucose and fructose
Dates24-32%24-32%0-40%45-50%Sucrose content varies widely by variety
Bananas20-25%20-25%35-45%~45%Sucrose share drops as fruit ripens
HFCS-4242%58%0%42%Manufactured blend; no sucrose present
Honey38-40%30-35%1-5%~40%Enzymes largely break down sucrose during production
Corn syrup (not high-fructose)~0%~100%0%~0%Essentially pure glucose

4 posted on 07/03/2026 8:18:52 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: aimhigh

This may explain why people born after 1973 seem a lot dumber than people born before that date.


5 posted on 07/03/2026 8:39:52 PM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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To: dfwgator
So no ice cream?

Most ice cream and candy bars made with sugar. Soda is the main culprit, though you can see HFCS in many things. For a while even Karo had it. And yes, there is a difference between corn syrup and High Fructose Corn Syrup.
6 posted on 07/03/2026 8:50:41 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana ("Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." (John 2:5))
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To: aimhigh

Who knows.

I think the HFCS problem started a long time ago when, ever since corn has been subsidized and the cost is artificially low, making HFCS very cheap. I do believe, that was in part because many of the nations from where cane sugar was imported before that weren’t all that friendly with us:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272180036/figure/fig3/AS:667693149609988@1536201860069/Change-in-sugarcane-production-in-tons-in-Cuba-from-1961-to-2009-Data-used-to.png

Cuba was #1 in the world, historically in cane sugar production. The goal was to curb import of cane sugar, much of which came from nations hostile or unstable, while also giving US agra a boost:

file:///home/paul/Downloads/Barry.pdf (A good historical perspective)

Ironically, Cuba imported sugar from the US on more recent times, after their sugar industry post Cold War collapsed.

I don’t even think fructose is all that bad for you, in moderation!

It’s what is in fruit.

Sugar is in everything today and that’s a problem in its own right. Probably a contributor to the rampant diabetes and kidney disease.

But the fact that we use HFCS complicates things IMHO because your body does not process all sugars the same way, and you’re not really made to have those levels of fructose. Would anyone normally eat 16 pieces of fruit in a day? Probably not, but that’s not unreasonable with HFCS in everything and if you drink a few regular sodas in a day, have a slice of pie for dinner, some Waffles with syrup for breakfast etc.

If you drink enough water, you can kill yourself that way also: https://abcnews.com/GMA/jury-rules-radio-station-jennifer-strange-water-drinking/story?id=8970712


7 posted on 07/03/2026 9:18:05 PM PDT by Red6
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Maple syrup wins and I like it best.


8 posted on 07/03/2026 9:25:38 PM PDT by Veto! ((Whatever it is, I'm against it))
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To: Veto!

When I was a wee lad, Mom used to give me maple syrup on cottage cheese! I started mixing cottage cheese with Greek yogurt a while back, add some maple syrup, toss in some vanilla whey protein powder, top with a few ounces of sliced fresh strawberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Yum! Lots of protein and real tasty.

Mom knew what she was doing in the early 50s.


9 posted on 07/03/2026 9:35:38 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

sounds super yum.

I’m absolutely copying it.


10 posted on 07/03/2026 10:10:12 PM PDT by Veto! ((Whatever it is, I'm against it))
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To: aimhigh

The BMJ, the Lancet, all of those editors have come out and said, “We have a huge problem. We can’t replicate this research. We actually don’t even know who did the research. In some cases...the lab doesn’t exist. [TRANSCRIPT]

https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4386387/posts

Lets not run out in to the parking lot at night pulling our hair out by the handful’s. Do the reading and look for the REPRODUCTION of the study, there have been a lot of piss poor peer reviewing lately.


11 posted on 07/04/2026 3:15:33 AM PDT by BFW
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

“Free” fructose has no meaning. For all practical purposes fructose is fructose. Fructose imparts the taste of sweetness, whether bound to glucose in sucrose or not. The parotid salivary glands detect sweetness as soon as you taste it, and release an enzyme which causes the digestive system to release sucrase. Sucrase immediately cleaves sucrose into glucose and fructose.

Fructose is fructose.


12 posted on 07/04/2026 4:30:38 AM PDT by nagant
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To: aimhigh

Glucose goes straight into the bloodstream.

Fructose is metabolized in the liver, using the same metabolic pathways as alcohol.

So fructose doesn’t spike blood sugar. That doesn’t mean it’s healthy.

Alcohol causes fatty liver disease.

Fructose causes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.


13 posted on 07/04/2026 7:00:17 AM PDT by jdege
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To: aimhigh

Semen contains high levels of fructose.


14 posted on 07/04/2026 7:00:59 AM PDT by Savage Beast (When the student is ready, the teacher appears. When the people are ready, the hero appears.)
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To: DiogenesLamp

Gee, and I wonder why that date?

Which month in ‘72 is your birthday? :)


15 posted on 07/04/2026 7:27:14 AM PDT by bobbo666
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To: bobbo666
That's the year all the soft drink companies switched from using sugar to using high fructose corn syrup. (It was cheaper.)

All the soft drinks after 1973 were flavored with the stuff, and that has carried on until the present.

16 posted on 07/04/2026 9:44:24 AM PDT by DiogenesLamp ("of parents owing allegiance to no other sovereignty.")
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