You might want to take another look at the amount of sodas, candies and other highly sweetened foods in your diet. A new study found that a diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure by up to 87 percent. The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center, implies that cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may help prevent high blood pressure.
The researchers noted that the rising amount of fructose in diets during the past 200 years has directly paralleled the increasing rate of obesity, and the number of obese Americans has risen abruptly since the use of high fructose corn syrup became widespread.
Americans consume 30 percent more fructose now than just twenty years ago, and as much as four times the amount over 100 years ago when the obesity rate was less than five percent. Although obesity has long been linked with the risk of high blood pressure, no conclusive studies directly linked fructose to hypertension.
The new study examined 4,528 adults with no history of hypertension. The amount of fructose in their diets was calculated based on a questionnaire which included foods such as soft drinks, candy, bakery products and fruit juices. The team found that those who ate or drank more than the amount of fructose in two and a half sugary drinks each day increased their risk up to 87 percent.
“These results indicate that high fructose intake in the form of added sugars is significantly and independently associated with high blood pressure levels in the US adult population with no history of hypertension,” said the authors.
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