What Your Kids Drink Now May Raise Their Blood Pressure Later

Vidcast:  https://www.instagram.com/p/Dbltrdvt-Rz/University of Toronto nutritionists working with the Harvard School of Public Health epidemiologists followed 25,749 Americans who were ages 9 to 16 when they entered the study, tracking their diets and health for as long as 25 years.Those drinking two or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day had a 52% higher risk of developing high blood pressure compared with those drinking fewer than three a week.The type of drink mattered. Each daily soda was associated with a 23% higher risk, while each daily sports drink was associated with a 36% higher risk. Surprisingly, heavy fruit-juice consumption wasn’t necessarily harmless either. Drinking at least one-and-a-half servings a day was associated with a 35% higher risk of hypertension compared with less than one serving a week.There was some encouraging news. Replacing one sugary drink each day with whole fruit was associated with a 22% lower risk. Substituting milk or water was also associated with lower risk, while replacing fruit juice with whole fruit was associated with a 19% reduction.This was an observational study, so it cannot prove these drinks caused hypertension, and blood-pressure diagnoses were self-reported. But the message is worth considering: whole fruit, milk, and water are better everyday choices than soda, sports drinks, or frequent fruit juice.References on my website.#ChildrensHealth #BloodPressure #SugaryDrinks #HeartHealth #Nutrition