Eating too much sodium can push your blood pressure into the danger zone. Now, researchers are reporting that eating too many sweets–or drinking too much soda–may have a similar effect.
People who consume a diet high in fructose, a type of sugar and a key ingredient in high-fructose corn syrup, are more likely to have high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a new study.
Drinking 2.5 cans or more of non-diet soda per day–or consuming an equivalent amount of fructose from other foods–increases your risk of hypertension by at least 30 percent, the study found. What’s more, the increased risk appears to be independent of other dietary habits, including sodium, carbohydrate and overall calorie intake.
