A daily sugary drink can raise the risk of high blood pressure by almost a third, new research by Maastricht’s teaching hospital has shown.

The researchers looked into the effects of fructose from sugary drinks such as Coca-Cola as well as in fruit juice, and in fruit itself. They found that the fructose in fruit juice and fruit did not affect blood pressure but that drinks with added fructose do.

A large-scale study among 8,500 people showed that a daily dose of 10 grammes of fructose from a sugary drink increased the risk of high blood pressure by 29%.

A comparison with a second study in which 21 healthy people were given 20 grammes of fructose from an apple, apple juice, a pureed apple and fructose diluted in water, as in a sugary drink. That experiment confirmed the earlier findings.

“You’d think fructose is fructose and sugary drink lovers probably have other unhealthy habits. That is why we wanted to put aside the effects of lifestyle and see if the “packaging” of the fructose mattered,” head researcher Martijn Brouwers told broadcaster NOS.

Fruit also contains fibre, antioxidants and other substances that slow down the breakdown of sugar, protecting the body from harmful effects, Brouwers said.

Earlier research had already shown fructose, particularly from sugary drinks, can cause fatty liver and type 2 diabetes.