For decades, you’ve been bombarded with propaganda against consuming salt and fat to improve heart health.
Cut salt, cut fat, cut salt…cut fat!!!
But new research shows that another ingredient, which is found in almost all processed food, is a lot more dangerous for your blood pressure than salt or fat.
Blood vessels regulate blood pressure by contracting and relaxing, and this is a natural process.
As blood vessels contract, blood pressure rises, and vice versa.
Scientists at the University of Leicester have now shown how the intake of sugar disturbs this natural process.
A high level of sugar in the blood, which would result from eating a rich, large meal, also affects the heart and the cardiac muscles.
High levels of glucose in the blood during a heart attack could lead to a higher risk of complication. Even people who don’t have diabetes can become hyperglycemic during a heart attack because of the already elevated sugar levels in the blood.
This is especially problematic because sugar is everywhere.
Sugar is a key ingredient in many processed foods. Even in products like ketchup or potato chips, which do not taste sweet, sugar is generally added.
In an analysis published in the online journal Open Heart, doctors noted that the added sugars in processed foods were likely to have a greater role than added salt in high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
While it’s extremely difficult to cut out all sugar, there is something else you can do to lower your blood pressure.