Sugary Drinks Could Boost BP

Killer fruit - agents of destruction.

Patients with hypertension may have to start watching their sugar as well as their salt, new research suggests.
Data from more than 2,600 patients found that those with the highest intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages like soda and fruit juices seemed to have higher blood pressure readings, Ian J. Brown, MD, of Imperial College London, and colleagues reported in Hypertension.

The data "suggest that individuals who consume more soda and other sugar-sweetened soft drinks may have higher blood pressure levels than those who consume less, and the problem may be exacerbated by higher salt intake," Brown said in an e-mail to MedPage Today and ABC News.

Past studies have linked fructose to high blood pressure. So to further investigate the association, Brown and colleagues assessed data from the INTERMAP study, which included 4,680 patients from Japan, China, the U.K., and the U.S.

They focused their analysis on the 2,696 patients who hailed from the U.S. and the U.K., gathering information from urine collections and blood pressure readings. Patients also reported on their regular diet over a period of four days.

The analysis showed that intake of sugar-sweetened beverages was related to blood pressure. In fact, those who drank the most sugary drinks had the highest blood pressure levels.

Beware.

Kaboom!