Thursday, November 6, 2014

Sugar Could Be Worse for Your Blood Pressure Than Salt, New Research Reveals

  • For years the public have been urged to slash their salt intake  
  • It had been thought salt increases the risk of strokes by a quarter and it has been blamed on 3 million deaths worldwide annually  
  • But study claims sugar is more related to blood pressure than sodium
Sugar - not salt -  is to blame for high blood pressure, US researchers claim. They argue 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.  
They argue that high sugar levels affect a key area of the brain which causes the heart rate to quicken and blood pressure to rise 
For years the public have been urged to slash their salt intake and guidelines state it should be restricted to a teaspoon a day.  
Experts say it increases the risk of strokes by a quarter and it has been blamed on 3 million deaths worldwide annually.   
But 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 randomized control trials (large-scale studies) suggesting that sugar is more strongly related to blood pressure in humans than sodium. ...