Mumbai: If you thought sugar is better than salt for your rising blood pressure, think again! US researchers claimed that high sugar levels affect a key area of the brain, which causes the heart rate to quicken, and blood pressure to rise
The scientists from New York and Kansas also highlight a recent study of 8,670 French adults, which found no link between salt and high blood pressure. Slashing salt from your diet increases the risk of strokes by a quarter and has also caused deaths worldwide.
In an article in the American Journal of Cardiology, researchers led by Dr James DiNicolantonio state ‘It is sugar not the salt that may be the actual causative factor for high blood pressure. This notion is supported by meta analyses of randomised control trials (large-scale studies) suggesting that sugar is more strongly related to blood pressure in humans than sodium.
Around a quarter of adults in the UK have high blood pressure and it greatly increases the risk of strokes and heart disease. Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist and science director of Action on Sugar, a campaign group, said the public health risk posed by sugar had been underestimated.
He added: ‘we know that sugar does not provide any nutrients and there is growing evidence it is an independent risk factor for many diseases.
