London - Sugar – not salt –is to blame for high blood pressure, researchers suggest.
They argue that high sugar levels affect a key area of the brain, causing the heart rate to quicken and blood pressure to rise.
The American scientists highlight a recent study of 8 670 French adults which found no link between salt and high blood pressure.
For years the public have been urged to restrict their salt intake to a teaspoon a day, and it is blamed for up to 3 million deaths worldwide each year.
But researchers led by Dr James DiNicolantonio, a heart disease specialist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, believe sugar may be the real danger.
Writing in the American Journal of Cardiology, they state: “It is sugar, not the salt, that may be the actual causative factor for high blood pressure.
“This notion is supported by... analyses of randomised control trials (large-scale studies) suggesting that sugar is more strongly related to blood pressure in humans than sodium.
“Encouraging consumers to hold the sugar, not the salt, may be the better dietary strategy to achieve blood pressure control.”
Around a quarter of British adults have high blood pressure, which experts say greatly increases their risk of a stroke and makes them vulnerable to heart disease.
The team believes high sugar levels may increase blood pressure by affecting part of the brain linked to hormone production, called the hypothalamus.
Dr DiNicolantonio also contradicts experts who claim that reducing salt consumption will lower levels of obesity. He added: “We argue the opposite, a reduction in salt intake may lead to an increased intake in processed foods (and added sugars) and thereby increase the risk of diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.”
In June, officials issued new guidelines urging the public to limit themselves to between five and eight teaspoons of sugar a day over concerns it is causing obesity and type 2 diabetes.
However the average adult consumes around 15 teaspoons, largely due to the high levels hidden in cereals, yoghurt, sandwiches and ready meals.
Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist and science director of campaign group Action On Sugar, said the public health risk posed by sugar had been underestimated. He said: “We know that sugar does not provide any nutrients and there is growing evidence it is a... risk factor for many diseases.”
But Professor Graham MacGregor, an expert in cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary, University of London, said evidence blaming sugar for high blood pressure was “incredibly weak”.
He added that research spanning several decades had shown a strong link between salt and high blood pressure.
Experts have previously called on the government to impose a sugar tax on fizzy drinks – although ministers have so far rejected the idea.
The government’s chief advisor on obesity, Professor Susan Jebb, has also urged parents to ban sugary drinks from the dinner table amid fears over a rise in tooth decay among children. - Daily Mail