Dangerous high blood pressure in millions of children is caused by sugar. Deadly hypertension in adults, causing crippling heart attacks, strokes and kidney failures, is also caused or made considerably worse by sugar, the study disclosed.
Sugar increases the amount of harmful cholesterol in a person's blood and also adds to the dangerous effects of too much salt. This sugar damage answers an old mystery that doctors have wondered about: What causes high blood pressure in people who are otherwise healthy?
"Refined sugars do not contain the essential nutrients necessary to even metabolize them properly. Sugary processed food are also unlikely to contain much fiber, so the high consumption of sugar-laden foods contributes to a harmful, low-fiber diet," says James Braly, MD.
"While cookies, cakes, candies, ice cream and soft drinks predictably contain high amounts of sugar, surprisingly, so do salad dressings, cereals, yogurt, catsup and relish. In general, food that is frozen, canned, cured, and processed is likely to be high in sugar. Sucrose is sugar(cane sugar to be specific), so is lactose (milk sugar), and maltose (grain sugar). Other sugar derivatives, including fructose and corn syrup, contribute to the excessive sugar load.
"Sugar provides empty calories and is a cheap way to get a boost of energy since it is metabolized by the body into glucose. But too much sugar swamps the body, which is incapable of processing the sugar effectively. With continued overuse of sugar, the pancreas eventually wears out and is no longer able to clear sugar from the blood efficiently. The blood sugar level rises and diabetes may result," continues the study.
And here's an eye-opener: Thirty minutes after consuming sugar, the immune system is measurably suppressed, losing as much as 50% of its capacity, so says Jon D. Kaiser, author of Immune Power (NY: St. Martin's Press, 1993).
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