Sugary Diet May Prompt High Blood Pressure

With steadily rising increases fructose consumption in industrialized nations, health experts have noticed a concomitant rise in the prevalence of hypertension (high blood pressure). Diana I. Jalal, from the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center (Colorado, USA), and colleagues analyzed data on 4,528 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, ages 18 and older, with normal blood pressure at the study’s start, surveying the subjects as to dietary habits and measuring blood pressure. Those participants who consumed diet of 74 grams or more per day of fructose (corresponding to 2 ½ sugary soft drinks daily) were at a 30% greater risk for developing a blood pressure reading of 140/90 mmHg and at a 77% higher risk for developing a blood pressure reading of 160/100 mmHg. The researchers conclude that: “These results suggest that high fructose intake, in the form of added sugar, independently associates with higher [blood pressure] levels among US adults without a history of hypertension.”