Before starting the experimental diet the rats were taught to navigate their way through a maze using visual landmarks to remember the way.  The researchers then separated the rats into two groups, both consumed a fructose solution as their water, but one half of the rats also received omega-3 fatty acids, which are thought to protect against damage to the synapses — the chemical connections between brain cells that enable memory and learning. After six weeks of their new diet, the researchers tested the rats’ recall of the maze route.

“The second group of rats navigated the maze much faster than the rats that did not receive omega-3 fatty acids,” study researcher Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, of the University of California, Los Angeles stated, “[The rats who only drank sugar water] brains showed a decline in synaptic activity. Their brain cells had trouble signaling each other, disrupting the rats’ ability to think clearly and recall the route they’d learned six weeks earlier.”  In other words, the rats who did not receive the omega-3 fatty acids were dumber than their counterparts.

The average American consumes more than 40 pounds of high-fructose corn syrup per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Some scientists even think sugar should be taxed the way alcohol and tobacco products are. (A sentiment I personally do not agree with.)

“We’re not talking about naturally occurring fructose in fruits, which also contain important antioxidants,” Gomez-Pinilla said. “We’re concerned about high-fructose corn syrup that is added to manufactured food products as a sweetener and preservative.”

What have we done to ourselves? Perhaps this is the reason that we struggle more in standardized testing than the rest of the world.  Have our actions finally come full circle to destroy ourselves from within? 

What will this cause you to do?  Maybe you should lay off the Mountain Dew….

By way of some back story, I have been blogging here, at JohnCDonahue.com, for several years.  I wrote about all sorts of things that I love: Disney, running, leadership, my faith, serving others, and food.  And for a long time, I wrote a lot about my work in ministry.  About 3 years ago, I stepped out of full time ministry and entered the “secular” world and my blogging pace slowed to almost a crawl.  And then my website crashed…and I lost everything.  So this is the first post on my “new and improved” website.

It is often easy to answer some simple questions and re-introduce myself.

Hi…my name is John.  I have a lovely wife and 2 really cool dogs…no children, yet!  I work for an audio/visual company and I do websites and graphics on the side.  I am an avid Disney Blogger and podcaster.  I am a classically trained musician and can often be found playing at a church that I attend when I am home.  I love Jesus, but I wrestle with what we have made of the church.  I work too much and I am over-weight.  But I have been running more serious lately and have become much more knowledgeable on healthy lifestyles.

I want to inspire you to be better: a better spouse, friend, leader, follower, athlete, and person.  I want to be inspired by you through the comments and conversations we will have here, and on Twitter and Facebook.  I need you and I hope that you come to rely on me.  I am, at my very core, a minister.  I ALWAYS want to leave people better than I find them.

So this is the new beginning.  It’s eclectic…sort of like me.  It’s not perfect, but it IS a start.