Banish These Beverages

While the temperatures rise with the summer season, your blood pressure doesn’t have to do the same.  Aaqib Habib Malik, from Griffin Hospital (Connecticut, USA), and colleagues completed a literature review of 12 studies with a total of 409,707 participants) involving sugar sweetened beverages and blood pressure.  The data showed a positive association between increased consumption of sugar sweetened beverages and elevated blood pressure in all 12 studies, that was statistically significant in 10 studies.  Submitting that: “our systematic review shows that the consumption of [sugar sweetened beverages] is associated with higher [blood pressure], leading to increased incidence of hypertension,” the study authors urge that: “Restriction on [sugar sweetened beverages] consumption should be incorporated in the recommendations of lifestyle modifications for the treatment of hypertension.”