NEW YORK (CBS NEWS) - A sugar-laden diet could make you dumber, according to the authors of a new study. But, don’t fret — omega-3 fatty acids may be able to mitigate the effects.

A UCLA study showed that when a fructose solution was given to rats, they had a harder time figuring out a complicated maze. However, when rats were given both the sugary substance and a supplement high in omega-3 fatty acids, they were able to get through the maze much faster than rats that didn’t receive omega-3s.

“Our findings illustrate that what you eat affects how you think,” said Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a professor of integrative biology and physiology in the UCLA College of Letters and Science, said in a written statement. “Eating a high-fructose diet over the long term alters your brain’s ability to learn and remember information. But adding omega-3 fatty acids to your meals can help minimize the damage.”

The findings were published on May 15 in The Journal of Physiology.

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