If healthy people eat a lot of fructose (like in sugary drinks and snacks) for just two weeks, their blood pressure goes up, their insulin and fat levels rise, and they’re twice as likely to show signs of metabolic syndrome.

Eating a lot of added sugars, especially fructose, might raise your blood pressure over time—studies show an average increase of about 7 points for the top number and 6 points for the bottom number after eating lots of sugar for at least two months.

If you eat more than 74 grams of fructose a day—like from sugary drinks or sweets—you’re much more likely to have high blood pressure, especially readings like 160/100 or higher.

Eating normal amounts of sugar doesn’t make your blood pressure go up, raise uric acid (which can cause gout), or cause fat to build up in your liver — unlike what some people claim.

Back when people were told to eat less fat and more carbs, sugar intake went up—and so did heart disease and obesity. Now scientists are wondering if sugar, not fat, might be the real problem.

Eating too much fructose, like the sugar in soda and candy, can mess up your liver’s ability to respond to insulin, make more fat in your liver, and raise fat levels in your blood, which can lead to bigger health problems like heart disease.