In the News--what causes high blood pressure--salt or sugar?

"Too much salt will give you high blood pressure".  We’ve heard this from researchers and doctors all the past 50 years.  Millions of us have tried to be mindful of how much salt we eat and lower our salt intake.  Will too much salt give you high blood pressure?  Is this a true statement?  Some researchers are questioning this statement.  They are suggesting maybe it’s processed sugar, not salt, that causes hypertension. 

This revolutionary research published in American Journal of Cardiology reports that lowering salt intake has had very poor results (lowering a person’s systolic –top number—by 5 mm Hg and the diastolic –bottom number by 2.5mm Hg.  The researchers are recognizing that insulin resistance (type 2 diabetes) and obesity occur in the same people who have hypertension (high blood pressure).  Doctors know that the high sugar levels in a person’s blood causes the body to shift fluid into blood vessels and reach a dilution level the body needs.  Could this increased volume inside blood vessels be causing the high blood pressure?   Could it be the processed sugars we are eating?   The researchers are concluding that processed sugar is bad for us and we eat too much of it. 

http://www.kshb.com/news/health/new-study-calls-sugar-not-salt-the-main-enemy-of-a-healthy-heart

If this is true, we can improve our health by cutting back on processed foods, especially sweet foods.  We can eat more fresh fruits and decrease our cake intake.  Watch this topic; I bet we will hear more about this.