Sugar-sweetened drinks may boost blood pressure
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A study in the scientific journal Hypertension suggests that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages may raise blood pressure, which has been associated with heart disease.
The International Study of Macro/Micronutrients and Blood Pressure (INTERMAP) led by Paul Elliott and colleagues from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London found people who used more glucose and fructose tended to have higher blood pressure.
Glucose and fructose are present in high fructose corn syrup, which has been associated with a number of health conditions.
For the study of 2696 men and women aged 40 to 59 picked in eight areas of the U.S. and two areas of the U.K., the researchers examined the association between blood pressure and intake of glucose, fructose, sucrose in sodas and diet sodas, and sodium.
The association was found higher in individuals who also had higher intake of sodium. BUt diet sodas were not correlated with higher blood pressure.
Specifically, each serving of sugar-sweetened beverage per day seemed to increase the systolic pressure by 1.6 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) and diastolic blood pressure by 0.8 mm Hg. The correlation was significant even after the adjustment for some other risk factors.
Sugar consumption increases serum levels of uric acid, which may lower the levels of nitric oxide, a chemical that is needed to dilate the blood vessels to keep the pressure low, the researchers said.
They also said that sugars can also enhance "sympathetic nervous system activity and sodium retention."
The study has its limitation. The dietary information was provided by the participants.
This is not the first study that associated drinking sugar sweetened beverages with increased blood pressure.
Dr. Michel Chonchol of the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center and colleagues published a study in the Jul 1 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology saying eating more than 74 grams of fructose per day was linked with higher blood pressure.
Dr. Richard Johnson of the University of Colorado-Denver and colleagues gave 74 men 200 grams of fructose per day and measured their blood pressure after two-week consumption of fructose.
They found the men increased their systolic blood pressure by 6 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure by about 3 mm Hg.
By David Liu
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