Sugar - not salt - is to blame for high blood pressure, US researchers claim.

They argue that high sugar levels affect a key area of the brain which causes the heart rate to quicken and blood pressure to rise.

The scientists from New York and Kansas also 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 slash their salt intake and guidelines state it should be restricted to a teaspoon a day.

Experts say it increases the risk of strokes by a quarter and it has been blamed on 3 million deaths worldwide annually.

But in an article in the American Journal of Cardiology, researchers led by Dr James DiNicolantonio state ‘It is sugar not the salt that may be the actual causative factor for high blood pressure.

‘This notion is supported by meta 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 adults in the UK have high blood pressure and it greatly increases the risk of strokes and heart disease.

This research is further evidence of the health risks posed by eating too much sugar.

In June, officials issued new guidelines urging the public to limit themselves to between five and seven teaspoons a day over concerns it is causing obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The American researchers believe that high sugar levels affect a key area of the brain called the hypothalamus which causes the heart rate to quicken and blood pressure to rise.

They also think it may cause our bodies to produce more insulin, a hormone, which may also speed up the heart rate.

Dr DiNicolantonio, a heart disease research scientist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City also contradicts experts who claim reducing salt consumptions will lower levels of obesity and heart disease.

He adds: ‘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.’

The reasons are complicated but it is thought that low salt levels increase the amount of certain fats in the blood.

Dr Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist and science director of Action on Sugar, a campaign group, said the public health risk posed by sugar had been underestimated.

He added: ‘We know that sugar does not provide any nutrients and there is growing evidence it is an independent risk factor for many diseases.

But Professor Graham McGregor, an expert in cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary, the University of London, said the evidence blaming sugar rather than salt for high blood pressure was ‘incredibly weak.’

He said that research spanning several decades had shown a strong link between salt and high blood pressure.

Guidelines from Public Health England, the agency responsible for tackling obesity, in June stated that women should have no more than five to six teaspoons of sugar a day and men seven to eight.

But the average adult consumes 15 teaspoons largely due to the high levels of hidden sugar in fruit juice, muesli, yoghurts, sandwiches and ready meals.

Some experts want the Government to impose a sugar tax on fizzy drinks although ministers have so far rejected these calls.

The Government's chief advisor on obesity, Professor Susan Jebb, has also urged parents to ban fruit juice and fizzy drinks from the dinner table and stick to water.

Experts are also worried that sugar is behind an increase in tooth decay in children and could affect their ability to learn.

参考译文：

高血压，很大程度上是高盐摄入惹得祸——之前的研究如是说。不不不！是糖，不是盐！一项来自美国的科学家的震撼性最新研究说。

多年来，WHO、CDC、FDA一直把引发高血压发病率持续走高的很大一部分罪责归于公众的高盐饮食，而高血压是导致心血管病死亡的首位危险因素。其中约25%心血管病死亡归咎于高盐饮食导致的高血压，全球每年约有300万人因此死亡。公共机构反复呼吁公众控制钠摄入，每天食盐摄入量控制在5克（WHO）、6克（CDC）以内。

美国心脏病杂志发布的一篇最新研究认为，“并非高盐，事实上引发高血压的更可能是高糖饮食。”

来自美国纽约和堪萨斯的科学家研究认为，高血糖水平作用于下丘脑的某个关键部位，引起心率加快、血压升高。

同时，他们还指出，高血糖将刺激人体分泌更多的胰岛素，这种激素同样刺激心率加快。

领导这项研究的DiNicolantonio博士说：“我们的观点还得到了随机对照试验（大型研究）荟萃分析证据的支持。分析结果表明，与钠相比，糖与高血压的相关性更加密切。”

“应该鼓励消费者控制糖，而不是盐的摄入量，才可能是更好的控制血压的饮食策略。”

心脏病专家、控糖运动小组科学总监、Malhotra博士认为，糖对公众健康构成的风险被低估了。

“我们知道，糖不提供热量以外的其他任何营养成分，而且有越来越多的证据表明，它是许多疾病的一个独立危险因素”，他补充说。

原始来源：http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2755288/Sugar-worse-blood-pressure-salt-shock-new-research-reveals.html