Foods high in added sugar may increase blood pressure!
Article by: Dr Zoe Arugay

A spoonful of sugar, yum?
Photo: Newscom 

In my practice, we have recently noticed a surge of elevated blood pressures among 20-somethings. It could be related with their stressful lifestyle. It could be with their diet. And since we're talking about diet, one will automatically surmise that it's the amount of fat we're talking about. But a new study published in The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology suggests that foods high in added sugar may increase the risk of high blood pressure.


The research was conducted at University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center lead by Dr. Michel Chonchol, an associate professor of medicine.


The research analyzed data for 4,528 adults with no history of hypertension who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 2003-6. Those who consumed at least 2.6 ounces a day of fructose in the form of table sugar or high-fructose corn syrup were found to have almost double the risk for systolic blood pressure higher than 160.

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A cause-effect relationship should be established next by conducting a randomized control trial.


Until then, cutting down on your sugar intake won't hurt... or, yeah, maybe it would if you can't control yourself. (Challenge accepted?)