It is true that salt is never good for your blood pressure or heart or health in general, but sugar has been fingered to be much more dangerous and harmful to the body than once thought – most especially fructose.
A report published in the journal Open Heart indicates that consuming a soft drink that is of 24-ounce causes a 15/9 mm increase in blood pressure and a 9 bpm increase in heart rate. Another research study reveals that the systolic blood pressure of trial participants increased by 6.9 mm Hg and that their diastolic blood pressure increased by 5.6 mm Hg after eight weeks of clinical tests.
After allowances have been made for adjustments, the researchers found that anyone that consumes 25% or more calories from added sugar stands the three-fold risks of developing cardiovascular diseases that could lead to possible death. And this is largely because test results showed that blood pressure rose to 7.6/6.1 mm Hg when sugar is involved.
The researchers were able to determine that fructose overconsumption leads to sugar’s potential to cause increased heart rate, cardiac output, vascular complications, and even renal sodium retention; and to this end, fructose and simple sugar must be avoided or limited to as minimal an amount as possible when taking foods and drinks.
It must however be mentioned that sugar consumed in whole fruits and other natural plant forms are never harmful or bad for the body, but those added to sweeten processed foods are not good for the health and cause harmful health complications. It is therefore advisable to avoid or minimize processed foods and drinks and take more of natural whole fruits to avoid the health risks of processed sugar.
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