Review Of Studies Finds That Fructose – Not Salt – Is Guilty Party In Hypertension

U.S. scientists who analyzed published scientific studies found that added sugar in processed foods – and not sodium content – may be the real culprit in the global increase in cardiovascular disease, the primary cause of premature death. The benefits of restricting salt content in the diet “are debatable”, the authors say. On the other hand, persuasive evidence from basic science, population studies, and clinical trials “implicates sugars, and particularly the monosaccharide fructose” – used in high fructose corn syrup – “as playing a major role in the development of hypertension [high blood pressure]”. The authors stressed that naturally-occurring sugars found in fruit and vegetables are not harmful to health.