If you're drinking sugary drinks like sodas and fruit drinks with added sugar, smoothies and coffee confections, you need to know that these delicious beverages appear to raise blood pressure in adults according to a new study. Very likely sugar soda drinkers weigh more as well.
The researchers say the glucose and fructose in these drinks are both to blame for the association. What's more, the problem can be made worse by increased salt intake, itself a key player in high blood pressure.
What sets this study apart is that sugar sweetened drinks have, for the first time, been tied to an increase in blood pressure, and this can up the risks of heart attack as well as stroke. More work will be needed to understand just how this works in the body.
For this study, the team examined the eating habits of almost 2,700 men and women, both American and British, who were between 40 and 59 years old.
Each participant kept diet diaries for foods, sugars, sugar sweetened and diet beverages for four-days.
The subjects also completed questionnaires that covered medial, social and lifestyle factors. All through the study, samples of urine and blood pressure measurements were taken.
If subjects who took part in the study drank at least one sugar sweetened drink a day, they were generally found to be heavier (higher BMIs), take in more calories and eat less healthy overall than those who didn't drink these types of beverages.
On average the sugar-laden drinks accounted for almost 400 added calories a day.
In terms of blood pressure, for each serving of sugared beverages the subjects drank daily, there was a bump in both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings, even after adjustments for BMI were made. If a participant had high dietary sodium intake the association between drinks with added sugar and high blood pressure was even stronger.
Choosing a diet beverage was linked to a very slight dip in blood pressure, though the finding didn't meet the criteria for statistical significance. Also of note, caffeine consumption appears not to have an impact on blood pressure.
A 12-ounce can of regular soda contains an astonishing 9 to 10 teaspoons of sugar.
Drinking added-sugar beverages has been tied to other conditions, beyond high blood pressure. There's obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and the increased risk of heart disease.
If you love these drinks, the researchers suggest that you enjoy them in moderation, and make healthier choices like water, unsweetened teas or mixes of sparkling water and fruit juice, more often.
And while experts (and probably your mom and your dentist) have repeatedly told us sugar sweetened drinks are bad, it's hard to break the habit. If you decide to make a switch to sugar free, or caffeine free, do so slowly, gradually so that your taste buds have the chance to become adjusted to sugar free drinks.
By limiting (or eliminating) how many calories you get from sugary drinks, you'll be doing your heart, and the rest of your body, a whole lot of good. And your taste buds... they'll adjust. Faster than you think.
The researchers say the glucose and fructose in these drinks are both to blame for the association. What's more, the problem can be made worse by increased salt intake, itself a key player in high blood pressure.
What sets this study apart is that sugar sweetened drinks have, for the first time, been tied to an increase in blood pressure, and this can up the risks of heart attack as well as stroke. More work will be needed to understand just how this works in the body.
For this study, the team examined the eating habits of almost 2,700 men and women, both American and British, who were between 40 and 59 years old.
Each participant kept diet diaries for foods, sugars, sugar sweetened and diet beverages for four-days.
The subjects also completed questionnaires that covered medial, social and lifestyle factors. All through the study, samples of urine and blood pressure measurements were taken.
If subjects who took part in the study drank at least one sugar sweetened drink a day, they were generally found to be heavier (higher BMIs), take in more calories and eat less healthy overall than those who didn't drink these types of beverages.
On average the sugar-laden drinks accounted for almost 400 added calories a day.
In terms of blood pressure, for each serving of sugared beverages the subjects drank daily, there was a bump in both the systolic and diastolic blood pressure readings, even after adjustments for BMI were made. If a participant had high dietary sodium intake the association between drinks with added sugar and high blood pressure was even stronger.
Choosing a diet beverage was linked to a very slight dip in blood pressure, though the finding didn't meet the criteria for statistical significance. Also of note, caffeine consumption appears not to have an impact on blood pressure.
A 12-ounce can of regular soda contains an astonishing 9 to 10 teaspoons of sugar.
Drinking added-sugar beverages has been tied to other conditions, beyond high blood pressure. There's obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes and the increased risk of heart disease.
If you love these drinks, the researchers suggest that you enjoy them in moderation, and make healthier choices like water, unsweetened teas or mixes of sparkling water and fruit juice, more often.
And while experts (and probably your mom and your dentist) have repeatedly told us sugar sweetened drinks are bad, it's hard to break the habit. If you decide to make a switch to sugar free, or caffeine free, do so slowly, gradually so that your taste buds have the chance to become adjusted to sugar free drinks.
By limiting (or eliminating) how many calories you get from sugary drinks, you'll be doing your heart, and the rest of your body, a whole lot of good. And your taste buds... they'll adjust. Faster than you think.
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