The Study
The wrong white crystals: not salt but sugar as aetiological in hypertension and cardiometabolic disease
This study says, 'People who eat a lot of sugary drinks and snacks tend to have higher blood pressure and heart problems,' but it doesn't prove that sugar is the direct cause — it could be other things like not exercising or eating junk food in general. So it's like saying 'ice cream and sunburns happen together in summer' — they're linked, but one doesn't cause the other.
Analysis score
Maximum 5 for a narrative review.
Where the score came from
Eating too much sugar, especially in sodas and snacks, tricks your body into storing fat, raising blood pressure and heart disease risk—even if you eat less salt.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 51 / 100
Quality score
Based on clinical experience or non-systematic literature reviews. The lowest level of evidence as they are most susceptible to bias and personal perspective.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes—these changes are clinically meaningful and could lead to heart attacks or strokes over time.
- 2Eating 25%+ of calories as sugar triples heart disease death risk; more than 74g of fructose a day raises severe high blood pressure risk by 77%; just 2 weeks of high sugar raises blood pressure by 7/5 mm Hg.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Open Heart
Year
2014
Authors
J. DiNicolantonio, Sean C. Lucan
Related Content
Claims (5)
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 get a quarter or more of your daily calories from added sugars—like soda, candy, and pastries—you’re about three times more likely to die from heart disease than someone who gets less than 10% of their calories from sugar.
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 too much sugar over a long time can mess up how your body uses insulin, which then causes high blood pressure, bad cholesterol levels, and raises your chance of heart disease.
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.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.