Drinking Fewer Sugar Sweetened Beverages May Lower Blood Pressure

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2010) — Drinking fewer sugar-sweetened beverages -- a leading source of added sugar in the U.S. diet -- may lower blood pressure, according to research published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Increased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) has been associated with an elevated risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes, according to previous research. However, the effect of sugar-sweetened beverages on blood pressure is uncertain, said lead author Liwei Chen, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor at Louisiana State University Health Science Center School of Public Health in New Orleans, La.